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M  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

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IN    THE    UNITED    STATES    OF    AMERICA 

1905 

BY 

FALL    HAUPT 


^^,.,s 


THE  BOOK 


OF 


(Bccfma^k^ 


A  NEW  METRICAL  TRANSLATION 


With  an  Introduction  and  Explanatory  Notes 


PAUL  HAUPT,  LL.  D. 

W.   W,  Spence  Professor  of  the  Semitic  Languages 

in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University 

Baltimore,  Md. 


SOLE  AGENTS  FOR  EUROPE 

KEGAN  PAUL,  TRENCH,  TRUBNER  &  CO.  Ltd. 

Publishers  and  Boohsellcrs 

DRYDEN   HOUSE,  43.  GERRARD  STREET 

LONDON,  W. 


Copprtg^f 


PAUL  HAUPT 


PRINTED     BY 


Z-^e  ^xiibinwaib  Company 

BALTIMORE,    MD.,    L'.   S.  A. 


[Reprinted  from  the  American  Journal  of  Philology,  No.   102] 


TO 

l^orace  ^ow^atb  jfuntcee 

AS  A  SMALL  TOKEN 
OF    GRATEFUL  APPRECIATION  AND  REGARD 


^cdmaette 


The  Book  of  Ecclesiastes "  is  unparalleled  in  the  whole 
range  of  Biblical  Literature.  Ernest  Renan  spoke  of  it  as 
the  only  charming  book  that  was  ever  written  by  a  Jew. 
Heinrich  Heine  called  it  the  Canticles  of  Skepticism,  while 
Franz  Delitzsch  thought  it  was  entitled  to  the  name  of  the 
Canticles  of  the  Fear  of  God.  From  the  earliest  times  down 
to  the  present  age  Ecclesiastes  has  attracted  the  attention  of 
thinkers.  It  was  a  favorite  book  of  Frederick  the  Great,  who 
referred  to  it  as  a  Mirror  of  Princes.  But  Biblical  students 
of  all  ages  have  experienced  some  difficulties  about  this 
remarkable  production.  Some  in  the  Jewish  Church  denied 
the  inspired  character  of  the  work,  until  the  s\'nod  of  Jabneh 
(90  A.  D.)  decided  in  favor  of  the  canonicity  of  the  Book. 
The  genuine  portions  of  Ecclesiastes  are  out  of  place  in  the 
Canon.  Their  author  is  not  a  theologian,  but  a  man  of  the 
world,  probably  a  physician,  with  keen  observation,  penetrating 
insight,  and  vast  experience. - 

I  believe  that  the  genuine  portions  of  hxclesiastes  were 
written  by  a  prominent  Sadducean  physician  in  Jerusalem, 
who  was  born  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes  (175-164)  and  died  in  the  first  decade  of  the 
reign  of  Alexander  Jann;tus  (104-78  n.  c.).^  Ecclesiastes 
may    have   been   a   son   of   Da\'id,  just  as   Jesus  and    HillcM 


2  -^■'%-^^^Hf-  3ntrol)Ucfton  -^jB^fen-:— 

were  sons  of  David;  he  may  even  have  been  a  king  in 
Jerusalem,  if  we  take  A^i//o-  to  mean  /u-ad  of  a  scliool.'-  The 
term  king  is  used  in  this  way  in  the  Talmud  (Gitt.  62^; 
Ber.  64^).  The  Book  was  probably  published  after  the 
death  of  the  author,  who  may  have  worked  on  it  for  more 
than  forty  years.  Nietzsche  would  have  called  it  cins  der 
erlcbtcstcn  B'uchcr.  The  three  or  four  interpolations  ^  suggesting 
that  this  pessimistic  poem  was  a  work  of  the  wise  king  of 
Israel,  Solomon  ben-David  (about  950  b.  c.)  may  be  due  to 
the  friends  of  the  author,  who  edited  the  book.^  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  a  great  many  Pharisaic  interpolations 
directly  opposing  the  Epicurean  ^  teaching  set  forth  in  the 
poem.  The  genuine  portions  of  Fxclesiastes  are  Sadducean 
and  Epicurean ;  Stoic  doctrines  are  found  almost  exclusively 
in  the  Pharisaic  interpolations.^ 

Ecclesiastes  must  have  been  a  Sadducee;  for  he  doubts 
the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  the  resurrection  of  the  body 
(3,  21).  He  must  have  been  a  physician;  otherwise  he  could 
not  have  given  the  enumeration  of  the  symptoms  of  senile 
decay  in  the  beautiful  allegorical  description  at  the  end  oi 
the  Book.  He  must  have  been  born  under  the  reign  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  (175-164);  for  in  4,  13-16  he  says 
that  he  saw  the  general  enthusiasm  for  the  poor  Init  zvise 
youth  (/.  c,  Alexander  Balas)  who  succeeded  (150  B.C.)  to 
the  throne  of  the  old  and  foolish  king  (i.  i\,  Antiochus 
Epiphanes). 9  Ecclesiastes  also  states,  at  the  end  of  c.  9,  that 
he  saw  the  successful  defense  of  the  small  place  (Bethsura) 
against  the  great  king  (Antiochus  Eupator,  163  b.  c.).'° 

Schopenhauer"  says  that  no  one  can  fully  appreciate 
Ecclesiastes  until  he  is  seventy,  and  we  may  safely  assume 
that  Ecclesiastes  had  reached  the  age  of  three  score  years 
and  ten  when  he  finished  his  work.  If  we  suppose  that 
he  was  born  in  the  first  year  of  the  reign  of  Antiochus 
Epiphanes,  he  would  have  been  eight  years  old  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Maccabean  rising  in  167  b.  c,  and  twelve 
at  the  time  of  the  siege  of  Bethsura  in  163  b.  c.'°  If  he  was 
in  Bethsura  with  his  family  during  the  siege,  it  would   not 


3n(robucfton 

be  surprising  that  this  event  made  a  strong  imj^ression  on 
him.  At  the  time  of  the  nuptials  of  Alexander  Balas  in 
150,9  he  would  have  been  25,  or  22  at  the  beginning  (153) 
and  30  at  the  end  (145)  of  Alexander's  meteoric  career. 

He  ma}'  ha\-e  completed  his  Book  at  the  age  of  75,  in 
100  B.  c,  but  he  may  not  have  published  it  during  his 
lifetime,  and  his  friends  and  disciples,  who  desired  to  make 
known  this  remarkable  legacy,  may  ha\'e  deemed  it  imprudent 
to  publish  it  under  the  name  of  its  author;  therefore  they 
tried  to  make  it  appear  to  be  a  work  of  King  Solomon,*^ 
especially  as  several  passages  might  ha\e  been  referred  to 
the  king  then  reigning,  rh.,  Alexander  Jannaius  (104-78 
B.  c.).'^  The  pessimistic  poem  may  have  caused  such  a 
sensation  that  it  was  impossible  to  suppress  it.  The  Pharisaic 
authorities  therefore  decided  to  save  the  attractive  book  for 
the  Congregation  but  to  pour  some  water  into  the  author's 
strong  wine. '3  This  official  recension,  which  was  not  castrated 
but  figleaved,  may  have  been  prompted  by  the  apocryphal 
book  known  as  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon, '•♦  which  was  composed 
at  Alexandria  about  50  b.  c.  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon  [cf. 
especially  c.  2)  is  directed  against  Ecclesiastes,  and  the 
Pharisaic  authorities  may  have  deemed  it  necessary  to  clear 
Jerusalem  of  the  suspicion  of  Epicureanism. ^  They  may 
have  been  afraid  that  the  Egyptian  Jews  might  eventually 
abandon  their  annual  pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem,  preferring 
to  worship  at  the  Temple  founded  at  Leontopolis  by  Onias 
IV.  about  160  B.  c.'5  This  Jewish  Temple  in  Egypt  existed 
until  y^)  '^-  D.,  when  it  was  closed  by  the  Romans  after  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

The  confusion  of  the  traditional  text  of  Ecclesiastes  may 
be  partly  accidental,  partly  intentional.'^  The  original  manu- 
script may  have  been  left  by  the  author  without  a  final 
revision ;  he  may  have  left  a  number  of  parallels  and  variants  '^ 
without  indicating  his  final  preference.  This  confusion  was 
increa.scd  by  the  editorial  changes  introduced  by  the  friends 
of  the  author,  who  published  the  work  after  his  death. ^ 
It  was  further  increased   b}-  the   polemical    interpolations   of 


4  — *-f^^^&^  '^nttobuction  -^n^^^-^ — 

the  orthodox  Pharisaic  editors,  who  finally  admitted  the 
Book  into  the  Canon  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  in  90  a.  d. 
Several  of  the  most  objectionable  statements  are  less  offensive 
if  preceded  '^  or  followed  '^  by  orthodox  glosses  and  scattered 
through  less  questionable  sections;  but  combined  in  their 
proper  order  they  would  have  been  intolerable. ^°  For  the 
same  reason  some  of  the  love-songs  in  the  so-called  Song 
of  Solomon  seem  to  have  been  cut  up  and  dislocated,  because 
in  their  original  order  certain  erotic  allusions  would  have 
been  too  plain  and  would  not  have  lent  themselves  to  any 
allegorical  interpretation  for  the  purpose  of  edification.^' 
A  dislocated  and  bandaged  arm  has  no  force. ^^ 

We  have,  of  course,  no  mathematical  evidence,  and  I  do 
not  claim  to  have  been  present  when  the  editorial  changes 
were  made,  but  my  theory  explains  all  the  features  of  this 
remarkable  Book.  I  came  to  my  conclusions  fourteen  years 
ago,  after  having  interpreted  the  Book  in  the  Old  Testament 
Seminary  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  for  three  years 
(1888- 1 891),  and  when  I  examined  my  notes  again  last 
winter ^3  i  found  hardly  anything  requiring  modification; 
in  fact,  I  rediscovered  several  things  which  I  had  found 
in  1890.  My  views  concerning  the  Old  Testament  have 
undergone  considerable  modifications  during  the  past  fifteen 
years,  ever  since  I  took  up  the  idea  of  publishing  a  new 
edition  of  the  Bible ;  but  with  regard  to  Ecclesiastes  my 
first  impression  has  remained  the  same  in  all  essential  points, 
although  my  notes  of  1890  had  become  so  unfamiliar  to 
me  that  I  regarded  them  just  as  objectively  as  though  they 
had  been  compiled  by  somebody  else.  Certainly,  nothing 
that  has  appeared  during  the  past  fourteen  years,  neither 
the  commentary  of  Wildeboer'^'^  nor  the  translations  of 
Riietschi^s  and  Siegfried, ^^  have  induced  me  to  deviate  from 
my  original  opinion.  The  arrangement  of  the  text  is  practi- 
cally the  same  which  I  made  in  1890,  a  specimen  of  which 
was  published  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars 
for  June,  1891,^^  and  reprinted  in  the  Oriental  Studies'^  (Boston, 
I894).==« 


— »'^«^'«Sc  3n<ro&udton  -^mmt-i-  5 

I  have  often  stated  that  I  adhere  to  the  maxim  that  the 
probably  right  is  preferable  to  the  undoubtedly  wrong.^^ 
Instead  of  prolonging  my  theoretical  discussion  of  the  origin 
of  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  it  will  be  better  to  let  the  great 
Old  Testament  pessimist  speak  for  himself  The  rhythm  of 
my  new  English  translation  has  been  much  improved  by  the 
kind  assistance  of  the  distinguished  co-editor  of  the  Poly- 
chrome Bible,  Horace  Howard  Furness.  The  metrical  ques- 
tions 3°  will  be  discussed  in  an  article  on  the  form  of  the  Book 
of  Ecclesiastes,  which  will  be  published  in  the  fifth  volume  of 
the  Johns  Hopkins  Contributions  to  Assyriology  and  Com- 
parative Semitic  Grammar  {Bcitrdgc  ziir  Assyriologic  und  sciiii- 
tischcn  SprachwisscnscJiaft)  edited  by  Friedrich  Delitzsch  and 
Paul  Haupt.  This  will  include  my  critical  edition  of  the 
Hebrew  text  which  has  been  in  type  since  July,  1904. 

(i)  See  below,  note  i  on  section  I  (p.  34). 

(2)  See  my  lecture  on  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  in  Oriental  Studies 
(Boston,  Ginn  &  Co.,  1894)  pp.  242-278;  cf.  Siegfried's  review  in  the 
Theologische  Literatur-Zeitung,  Sept.  28,  1895.  Winckler,  in  his  review 
of  Siegfried's  commentary  on  Ecclesiastes,  in  the  Orientalistische 
Literatur-Zeitung,  1,  313-316  (Oct.,  1898)  and  in  his  paper  Zeit  und 
Verfasser  des  Koheleth  in  his  Altorientalische  Forschicngen,  part  10 
(Leipzig,  1898)  does  not  seem  to  have  been  aware  of  the  fact  that 
Siegfried's  view  of  the  composite  character  of  Ecclesiastes  was  based 
on  my  lecture  published  in  1894.     Cf.  below,  nn.  26.  28. 

(3)  According  to  Winckler,  op.  cit.,  part  10,  p.  153,  the  author  of 
Ecclesiastes  was  the  Hellenizing  high-priest  Alcimus  (i  Mace.  7,  9)  who 
died  in  160  b.  c.  (i  INIacc.  9,  56).  But  this  hypothesis  {cf.  Cheyne- 
Black's  EB  1164  and  Matthes'  paper  cited  below)  is  just  as  untenable 
as  Winckler's  conjectures  and  interpretations,  op.  cit.,  part  4  (Leipzig, 
1896)  pp.  351-355,  or  his  remarks  on  the  Book  of  Ruth,  op.  cit.,  part 
16  (Leipzig,  1901)  pp.  65-78,  and  his  remarks  on  Canticles,  op.  cit., 
part  18,  pp.  236-242.  Contrast  my  metrical  version  of  the  Book  of 
Canticles  (Chicago,  1902)  reprinted  from  Hebraica,  18,  193-245;  19, 
1-32.  J.  C.  Matthes,  of  Amsterdam,  in  his  paper  Die  Abfassutigszeit 
des  Predigers  in  the  Vienna  Biblische  Vierteljahrsschrift  (1904)  believes 
that  the  genuine  portions  of  Ecclesiastes  were  written  about  150  b.  c, 
and  that  the  glosses  were  added  before  the  end  of  the  second  century  n.  c. 

(4)  The  Davidic  descent  of  Hillel  is  not  certain;  see  E.  Schiirer, 
Geschichte des  ji'idischen  Volkcs  iin  Zeitalterjcsu  Oiristi,  vol.  2  (Leipzig, 
1898)  p.  360,  n.  29. 


6  -^"S^j^^Ss-  (Jlofec  on  3ntro5uc(ton 

(5)  Eccl.  I,  I.  12.  i6b;  cf.  2,  12b  (=1,  a;  VI,  «.  f ;  VII,  p). 

(6)  They  may  have  transposed  sections  VI  and  VII  to  the  beginning 
of  the  Book  in  order  to  emphasize  the  passages  which  might  be  referred 
to  Solomon. 

(7)  Like  Epicurus  (341-270  B.C.)  Ecclesiastes  commends  com- 
panionship (4,  9)  and  cheerfulness  (9,  7)  but  also  contentment  (6^  9) 
and  moderation  in  sensual  pleasures,  to  avoid  painful  consequences 
(11,  10).  He  warns  against  wrongdoing,  since  it  entails  punishment 
(7'  17;  S>  6).  He  does  not  deny  (5,  2)  the  existence  of  God  but  he 
disbelieves  a  moral  order  of  the  universe  ;  divine  influence  on  this  world, 
where  there  is  so  much  imperfection  and  evil,  seems  to  him  impossible 
(see  especially  section  II).  In  the  same  way  he  doubts  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  (3,  21);  death  ends  all  consciousness  (9^  10).  He  by  no 
means  commends  nothing  but  eating,  and  drinking,  and  pleasure  (8,  15  ; 
2,  24;  5,  18;  ^y^  3,  12);  he  also  preaches  the  gospel  of  work  (3,  22; 
9j  10).     Cf.  below,  n.  4  on  III ;  n.  9  on  VIII. 

Ecclesiastes'  Epicurean  Ceterum  censeo  that  nought  is  good  for  man 
but  eating,  and  drinking,  and  pleasure  (8,  15  ;  2,  24;  5,  18;  cf.  3,  12)  is 
condemned  by  Jesus  (Luke  12,  20)  in  a  section  which  contains  several 
allusions  to  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  {cf.  Luke  12,  18  and  Eccl.  2,  4; 
Luke  12,  2ob  and  Eccl.  2,  18^,  and  above  all,  Luke  12,  27  =  Matt.  6,  29 
{Solomon  in  all  his  glory').  Note  also  vv.  29.  30.  M?/  iu£Te(jpiCe(y&e  (Luke 
12,  29)  means:  Do  not  be  at  sea  {cf.  Thuc.  8,  16)  i.  e.,  in  a  state  of 
uncertainty,  do  not  go  astray  {cf  Pol.  5,  70,  10).  The  Peshita  renders: 
Let  not  your  mind  stray  in  these  things  {we-ld  nifh^  ri'ydnkhdn  be-hdlcn). 

In  the  Talmud,  Epikuros  means  '  freethinker ; '  it  is  there  a  synonym 
of  the  earlier  term  Sadducee  '  righteous,'  which  seems  to  be  a  euphemism 
for  'unrighteous; '  cf.  nn.  31-34  to  my  paper  on  Ps.  i,  in  Hebraica,  19, 
139  and  below,  n.  i  on  II. 

(8)  Cf.  c.  g.  below,  n.  23  on  VI. 

(9)  See  below,  n.  9  on  III.  Winckler  {cf.  above,  n.  2)  is  right  in 
identifying  the  old  atid  foolish  king  with  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  but  the 
poor  and  wise  youth  is  according  to  Winckler  not  Alexander  Balas,  but 
Demetrius  I.     Contrast  below,  n.  13  on  III. 

(10)  See  below,  n.  6  on  VI.  (11)  See  below,  n.  43  on  VIII. 
(12)  For  instance,  4,  14;  10,  16;  3,  16..     Beth-hassiirhn,  the  house  of 

outcasts  (4, 14)  is  generally  considered  to  be  equivalent  to  beth-hd' dsiirim, 
the  house  of  prisoners,  and  this  interpretation  may  have  been  common 
soon  after  the  publication  of  the  Book.  Alexander  Jannaeus  had  been 
shut  up  in  prison  by  his  elder  brother  and  predecessor  Aristobulus 
(104/3  B.C.),  the  first  Hasmonean  King  of  the  Jews,  whose  coronation 
is  glorified  in  Ps.  2  ;  see  n.  22  to  my  paper  in  ZDMG  58,  629,  cited 
below,  at  the  end  ofn.  27.  Neither  Baumann  (ZDMG  58,  587-595)  nor 
Sievers  (ZDMG  58,  864-866)  have  paid  any  attention  to  my  remarks  on 
Ps.  2  in  Hebraic  a,  19,  134 — 146  and  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars, 
No.  163,  p.  56,  n.  17  {cf.  ibid.,  p.  90).  Aristobulus'  widow.  Queen 
Salma  Alexandra,  was  37  years  old  when  she  married  his  step-brother 
Alexander  Jannaeus,  and  he  was  24.     Alexander  Jannaeus  was  also  said 


-^•°»«§es:^  (Tlotce  on  3«<ro&Mcttott  ^eea^a't-*  7 

to  be  the  son  of  a   captive   woman  and  therefore  unfit  for  assuming 
priestly  functions;  cf.  Joseph.,  Ant.,  iii,  12,  2  ;  xiii,  10,  5;  13,  5. 

(13)  Cf.  Georg  Hoffmann,  Hiob  (Kiel,  1891)  p.  25. 

(14)  Some  of  the  orthodox  glosses  are  derived  from  the  Book  of 
Ecclesiasticus  ;  contrast  Noldeke,  ZAT  20,  91. 

(15)  Cf.  Schiirer's  work,  cited  above,  n.  4,  vol.  3,  pp.  97-100. 

(16)  Bickell,  Der  Prediger  iiber  den  Werth  des  Daseins  (Innsbruck, 
1884)  endeavored  to  show  that  the  confusion  was  due  to  the  mistake 
of  a  binder  who  misplaced  the  quires  of  the  manuscript ;  but  this  view 
is  untenable. 

(17)  Cf.  I,  (5.  ri.  (18)   Cf  II,  1?;  IV,  *  ;  VIII,  //. 

(19)  Cfl\,P;  V,  o-  VII,  W.  ^&\  VIII,  r.  X.  <^o,  (v.  13). 

(20)  For  instance,  10,  i^  (II,  vii);  11,  8b  (VIII,  xvi). 

(21)  See  my  Boo^  of  Canttc/es  (cited  above,  n.  3)  p.  19. 

(22)  Explanatory  scribal  expansions,  so  common  in  other  Books  of 
the  Old  Testament,  are  comparatively  rare  in  Ecclesiastes ;  rf  e.  g.  II, 
y-l\  III,  e.  ;.  'L  o.  7T-  IV,  a-y.  o-t.  aa-yy-  V,  C-  v.  |.  o.  tt  •  VI,  C.  k.  tt. 
££.  rp],  AK.  nfi.  on-  VII,  n.  6-7/.  (i.  o.  ^^.  00 -,  VIII,  /3-C.  ^-n.  fi.  v.  o.  n.  (ifi-M. 
1?!?.  Nor  are  there  many  illustrative  quotations  (see  my  remarks,  ZDMG 
58,  626);  rf  III,  ,3.  K.  TT;  IV,  t;  V,  y.  p.  w;  VI,  <p;  VIII,  uo,  (v.  11). 

(23)  I  interpreted  the  Book  again  during  the  session  1903/4,  also 
during  the  session  1894/5. 

(24)  In  Marti's  Hand- Commentar,  part  17  (Freiburg  i.  B.,  1898). 

(25)  In  Kautzsch,  Die  Heilige  Sckrift  des  Alien  Testaments  (Freiburg 
i.  B.,  1894). 

(26)  In  Nowack's  Handkotnmentar zutn  Alten  Testament  {Gottingen, 
1898);  cf.  above,  n.  2.  Siegfried  asked  me  (March  30,  1897)  to  place 
my  reconstruction  of  the  text  at  his  disposal,  but  I  declined  his  request. 
His  commentary  showed  that  he  had  misunderstood  the  oral  explanations 
which  I  had  given  him  on  various  occasions. 

(27)  The  translation  is  there  printed  in  lines,  just  as  Samuel  Cox 
printed  his  translation  of  Ecclesiastes  in  lines,  in  the  Expositor's  Bible 
(London,  1890)  pp.  69-110 ;  but  Cox's  stichic  arrangement  is  as  un- 
satisfactory as  Sievers'  metrical  analysis  of  the  first  two  chapters  in  his 
Studien  zur  hebrdischen  Metrik,  part  2  (Leipzig,  1901)  pp.  563-567. 
According  to  Zapletal,  Die  Metrik  des  Bitches  Kohelet  ( Freiburg,  Switzer- 
land, 1904)  the  entire  Book  of  Ecclesiastes,  which  was  written  in  the 
third  century  B.C.,  is  metrical,  even  the  Epilogue;  but  there  is  no 
strophic  division;  see  op.  cit.,  pp.  6.  10.  13.  Zapletal's  pamphlet  ap- 
peared after  the  publication  of  my  metrical  reconstruction  of  Ecclesiastes 
in  Koheleth  oder  Weltschmerz  in  der  Bibel  (Leipzig,  1905;  I  finished 
the  final  revision  of  the  proofs  on  Sept.  15,  1904,  and  received  the  first 
copies  of  the  book  in  Baltimore  on  Oct.  24,  1904)  but  Zapletal's  prefatory 
note  informs  us  that  the  discovery  that  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  is 
metrical  was  made  by  him  during  the  session  1903/4.  He  was  therefore 
in  no  way  influenced  by  my  metrical  version  of  Ecclesiastes  which  I 
read  at  the  general  meeting  of  the  Second  International  Congress  on 
the  History  of  Religions  at  Basle,  on  Sept.  i,  1904,  nor  by  my  metrical 


8  -— »4<^^Ss-  Qlotce  on  3«tro&uctton  •^^^m^'^' — 

reconstruction  of  the  Hebrew  text  which  I  exhibited  in  the  Semitic 
Section  of  that  Congress,  although  Zapletal  attended  the  Congress  and 
read  a  paper  on  Ecclesiastes'  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  at 
one  of  the  meetings  of  the  Semitic  Section.  This  coincidence  is  evidently 
an  interesting  case  of  sympathy,  unless  Zapletal  exercised  some  telepathic 
influence  on  me,  so  that  I  was  able  to  anticipate  his  discoveries  before 
he  pubhshed  them.  I  have  alluded  to  some  similar  psychic  phenomena 
in  n.  36  to  my  paper  The  Prototype  of  the  Magnificat  in  the  Journal  of 
the  German  Oriental  Society  (ZDMG  58,  630). 

(28)  I  stated  e.  g.  in  n.  5  to  my  lecture  on  Ecclesiastes,  published  in 
1894,  that  the  passages  2,  24^-26  (misprinted  24b.  26);  3,  13.  14b.  17; 
5,  6b.  8.  18;  6,  6;  7,  13.  14.  [i8b].  20.  26b-29  (misprinted  26b.  29);  8,  11- 
13;  9,  3,  &c.  consisted  of  subsequent  additions.  Jbid.,  n.  15  I  pointed 
out  that  4,  6  must  be  combined  with  4,  4  (misprinted  7);  5,  9-1 1;  6,  7-9; 
and  that  4,  5  as  well  as  10,  18  (misprinted  8).  15  are  glosses  to  4,  6  (see 
now  section  V).  At  the  end  of  that  note  I  called  attention  to  the  fact 
that  Eccl.  7,  II.  12  must  be  combined  with  7,  19;  8,  i;  9,  17^;  10,  2.  3.  12. 
13,  and  that  10,  19b  (misprinted  20b)  is  a  gloss  to  7,  12  (see  now  VI,  o). 
I  added:  "  lO,  ib  belongs  to  7,  16  {cf.  8,  14.  10 ;  7,  15-18;  9,  11.  12; 
8,  11-13  is  a  theological  gloss  to  8,  14,  &c. )  while  10,  i^  must  be  com- 
bined with  9,  1 8b"  (see  now  II  and  VI,  0).  In  n.  45  I  stated  that  2,  11- 
23  should  be  arranged  in  the  following  order:  11.  12b.  19.  18.  20-23. 
12^.  13-17.  24-26,  and  that  the  last  five  words  of  v.  12  and  vv.  i6b.  i8b  were 
glosses  (see  now  VI  and  VII). 

(29)  See  my  paper  on  David's  Dirge  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University 
Circulars,  June,  1903,  p.  55a. 

(30)  The  genuine  portions  of  Ecclesiastes,  which  may  be  arranged 
in  eight  sections,  comprise  195  pairs  of  hemistichs  with  3  +  3  beats, 
grouped  either  in  couplets  (Sections  I,  V,  VIII)  or  in  triplets  (Sections 
II,  III,  IV,  VI,  VII).  Pairs  of  hemistichs  with  2  +  2  beats  occur  only  in 
the  interpolations  [cf.  IV,  f,  8,  2  ff".  and  VI,  a.  7. 17),  and  in  one  illustrative 
quotation  {cf.  above,  n.  22)  VI,  </>  we  find  3  +  2  beats.  The  final  section 
of  the  Book  must  be  divided  into  two  halves,  just  as  I  did  in  my  lecture 
on  Ecclesiastes  published  in  1894  (see  above,  n.  2).  Each  of  these  two 
halves  consists  of  3  and  5  couplets,  respectively.  Also  section  III  must  be 
divided  into  two  halves,  and  each  half  consists  of  two  stanzas,  each  stanza 
comprising  two  triplets.  The  opening  section,  on  the  other  hand,  consists 
of  three  stanzas,  each  stanza  comprising  four  couplets.  Cf.  my  strophic 
reconstruction  of  Moses'  Song  of  Triumph  {Hebraica,  20,  155)  and  the 
Songof  Hannah  (ZDMG  58,  620).  In  the  older  poetical  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  the  end  of  a  line  generally  coincides  with  the  end  of  a  clause, 
but  in  Ecclesiastes  we  find  a  number  of  cases  in  which  the  end  of  a  clause 
forms  the  beginning  of  the  following  line  or  hemistich.  In  modern 
poetry,  as  well  as  in  Greek  and  Roman  poems,  this  is,  of  course,  quite 
common  ;  but  in  Hebrew  poetry  it  is  comparatively  rare.  In  the  opening 
pair  of  hemistichs  for  instance  (i,  2)  we  find  3x2  (or  4  +  2)  beats  instead 
of  the  regular  3-1-3  beats  ;  in  the  same  way  we  have  in  the  second  double- 
hemistich  of  section  II  (9,  2)  3X  2  beats  instead  of  3  +  3  beats,  unless  we 


prefer  to  call  this  a  transposition  of  the  cesura;  </.  3,  i;  8,  15;  5,  i; 
2,  3,  4;  9,  10.  13.  14b;  12,  5  (and  the  glosses  11,  7;  7,  14.  24;  i,  13;  8,  i); 
also  Ps.  45,  4  (see  note  9  on  section  111  j.  Q'.  n.  6  to  my  paper  The  I'oetic 
l-'orm  of  Psalm  23  in  Hcbraica  (April,  1905). 

To   Chapters    and    Verses   ok   the    Authorized    Version 

WITH  Corresponding  Sections,  Stanzas,  and  Glosses 

IN  THE  Present  Translation. 

The  numerals  in  the  first  column  of  the  subjoined  table  indicate  chapters 
and  verses  of  the  traditional  text  of  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  in  the 
Authorized  Version  (AV).  The  last  verse  of  c.  4  in  the  Hebrew  text 
(LXX,  Vulgate,  and  Luther's  Bible)  appears  in  AV  as  the  first  verse 
of  c.  5.  The  last  verse  of  c.  6  is  counted  in  LXX,  Vulgate,  and  Luther's 
Bible  as  the  first  verse  of  c.  7.  Full-faced  numerals  (i,  2,  &c. )  refer  to 
the  chapters,  ordinary  numerals  (1,2,  &c. )  indicate  verses ;  a  and  b  denote 
first  or  second  halves  of  a  verse ;  an  additional  -^  or  ^  means  first  part  or 
second  part  of  a  half-verse;  e.  g.  9,  ib^  =  first  part  of  second  half  (/.  e., 
third  quarter)  of  the  first  verse  of  chapter  9. 

The  larger  Roman  numerals  (I-VIII)  in  the  second  column  refer  to 
the  eight  sections  of  the  present  version,  while  the  smaller  Roman 
numerals  (i-xvi)  indicate  the  numbers  of  the  stanzas.  An  additional 
Arabic  numeral  (i,  2,  3)  after  the  number  of  the  stanzas  refers  to  the 
hemistichal  pairs  of  a  stanza;  e.  g.  VI,  vii,  2^  =  Section  VI,  stanza  vii, 
first  hemistich  of  the  second  hemistichal  pair.  The  second  hemistichs 
of  hemistichal  pairs  are  printed  in  separate  lines,  indented,  (except 
lines  with  2  +  2  or  3  +  2  beats;  see  above,  n.  30).  The  Greek  letters  after 
the  larger  Roman  numerals,  «,  ^.  &c.  refer  to  the  glosses  in  the  several 
sections.  All  smaller  Roman  numerals  (i-xvi)  indicate  genuine  portions 
of  Ecclesiastes,  while  the  Greek  letters  indicate  secondary  additions  and 
interpolations.  Apart  from  the  ten  glosses  VII,  an — kk  and  the  gloss 
VIII,  WW,  doubled  Greek  letters  refer  to  tertiary  glosses. 


lO 

— •^^t^s.  3n6ex  -^^^^^^ 

^ 

I,  I 

:        I,  a 

6,  1.2 

:     \,  viii.  ix 

9,   iba 

VIII,  aa 

2-8 

i-v 

3 

:  IV,  vii 

/3 

A 

9 

:            '/ 

4 

:            V 

2 

II,  i 

lO.   II 

:            vii.  viii 

5 

■■          vii 

3 

/3 

12.   13 

:    VI,  a 

6 

:            X 

4-6 

VIII,  >/ 

14-18 

i.  ii 

7 

■■     V,/3 

7-10 

i-iii 

8a 

:    VI,  V 

II.  12 

II,  ii.  iii 

2,  I-II 

:  VII,  i-vi 

8b 

:      V,  £ 

13-  14 

VI,  vi 

12a 

:    VI,  iii 

9 

:           ii 

15^ 

vii,  I 

12b 

VII,  vii 

10 

I,  vi 

15'' 

3 

13-17 

VI,  iii-v 

II 

III,  iv 

l6a          : 

2a 

18 

:  VII,  vi 

12a 

:  VII,  7 

l6b.  17 

- 

19-243 

vii-ix 

12b 

:            a 

1 8a 

vii,  2b 

24^-26 

ni 

7,  I.  2a 

:     III,  V 

1 8b 

9,  2 

3,1-8 
9 

10 
II 

:       I,  ix-xii 

2b-4 
5 

:              I 

V 

10,   la 

lb 

I 

■■       II.  vii,  3 

VI,  a 

6 

7 

IV,  i 

2-3 

4 

:     VI,  0 

12.  13 
14 

15" 
16 

VII,  ^^ 
VI,  7 

I,    Tl 

8-10 
II.  12 

III,  vi 
VI,  0 

5-7 

8-Ioa 

:            i 
VIII,  vi.  vii 

13-  14 

7 

lob 

:     VI,  KK 

IV,  e 

I5-l8a 

II,  vi.  vii 

II 

:  VIII,  vii 

ii 

1 8b 

VIII,  :; 

12.  13 

:      VI,  0 

17 
18-22 

e 

19 

VI,  p 

14a 

III,  I'P 

ii-iv 

20 

21.  22 

II, '/ 

IV,  ^- 

14b 
15 

■■     IV,  fi 
■■       V,  7 

4.  1-3 

V.  vi 
V,  i 

23.   24 
25 

VI,  V 

1? 

16.  17 

18 

III,  ^' 

4 

26-28    : 

VIII,   V 

19a 

:      III,  77 

5 

6            : 

7.8         • 

7 
ii 
vi.  vii 

29           : 
8,  I 

VI,  7 

0 

19b 
20 

:     VI,  ^« 

IV,  ,- 

9-12       : 

^ 

2-6 

IV,  f 

II,  1-3 

VIII,  iv.v 

13-16    : 

III,  vii.  viii 

7             : 

VIII,  A 

4 

viii 

8            : 

f 

5 

s 

5,   1-2 

i.  ii 

9a           : 

VI,  rt 

6 

viii 

3             -■ 

ii       ■ 

9b 

IV,   s^ 

7.8ba 

IV,  A' 

4-6         : 

iii.  iv 

10           : 

II,  V 

8b/3 

VIII,  xvi,  2b 

7a           : 

/? 

II-13    : 

^ 

9.   loa 

ix 

7b 

6 

14           : 

iv 

lob 

xi 

8.9         : 

IV.  ^ 

15           ■■ 

VII,  x 

10-12    : 

V,  iii-v 

i6a          : 

VI,  ;/ 

12,  T-sa     : 

x-xiv 

13-  14    ■■ 

X 

i6b         : 

VII,  <M 

5" 

xvi 

15.  16    : 

P 

17 

VI,  // 

6          : 

XV 

17           '■ 

VII,  77 

7          : 

X 

l8a         : 

V,  xi 

9.  i^" 

,/3 

8 

xvi 

l8b-20  : 

a 

/3          : 

II, /.// 

9-14    : 

(j(j 

Scdeeiastte  •^^ia^ 


I,  2    "  O  vanity  of  vanities!^  vanity  i 

of  vanities  !^     All  is  vanity  ! 

3  What  profit  has  man  of  'his  toil 

wherewith  he  toils  under  the  sun  ?' 

4  Generations  are  going  and  coming,  ii 

while  the  earth  is  abiding  for  ever. 

5  The  sun  is  rising  and'  setting, 

rushing^  (back)  to  his  place  4o  rise  there. 

6  The  wind,  it  blows  to  the  south,  iii 

and  the  wind,  it  veers  to  the  north, 
For  ever  veering,  veering, 

again  to  resume  its  veerings. 

7  The  streams  all  run  to  the  sea,  iv 

and  yet  is  the^ea  never  full, 
Although  to  their  destination 

the  streams  are  running  alway.* 


8     All  things  are  ceaselessly  active;  ^  v 

no  man  can  enumerate  all, 
Nor  can  all  be  seen  by  the  eye, 
nor  all  be  heard  by  the  ear.^ 

6,  lo''  But  nothing  can  ever  contend  vi 

with  what  is  stronger  than  it.' 


(«)  I,   I     The  sayings  of  Ecclesiastes '  (who  was)  a  son  of  David  (and) 

Kin<;  '•  in  Jerusalem 
(/?)        2     said  Ecclesiastes  (})3all 

('')  3.  9     What  profit  has  he  who  works  (f)   i,  5  the  sun  is 

of  that  whereon  he  toils?  /-\  |^g 


— **e#^s-  <Bccfcetaete0  ^8^|»>f- 


6,  lo''  What  has  happened  existed  ^  aforetime; 
what  a  man  will  be,  is  (fore)known. 

I,  lo    Is  there  aught  whereof  we  may  say, 
lo,  this  is  a  thing  that  is  new. 
It  was  (known)  in  those  ages  aforetime 
that  passed  before  we  were  born.^ 

II    Whatever  is  past  is  forgotten,^" 

and  so  will  it  be  in  the  future; 
It  will  not  be  remembered  by  those 
who  happen  to  live  in  the  future. 


Vll 


VIU 


3,  I 


/ 
5" 


All  lasts  but  a  while,"  and  transient'^ 
is  everything  under  the  sky : 

Transient  are  births  and  deaths, '^ 

transient  are  planting,  uprooting.* 

Transient  are  slaying  and  healing, 

transient  are  razing  and  building, 

Transient  are  rending-  and  sewin^ 

transient  are  scattering'  and  gathering.' 

Transient  are  keeping  and  scattering,'* 
transient  are  seeking '5  and  leaving,'^ 

Transient  are  affection, '^  aversion,' 
transient  are  love  and  hatred. 

Transient  are  warfare  and  peace, 

transient  are  weeping  and  laughter. 

Transient  are  wailing  and  triumph,'^ 

transient  are  silence  and  speaking! 


XI 


Xll 


{v)   I,  9    What  has  happened,-"  will  happen  (again); 

what  was  done,*^  (again)  will  be  done.'^^ 
3,  15a  What  has  happened, '^^  will  happen  (again); 
what  is  to  hap,  happened  aforetime.*^ 

(•?)        2     what  is  planted  (<)  S'' stones  ('>)  5b  from  affection 


(AA)    i^  9    Nought  new  is  there  under  the  sun. 


(1^'^)  3,  15  aforetime 


11. 

9,  2      Precisely  as  all  thin<^s  are  [transient],  i 

so  the  same  fate  happens  to  all : 
The  ri<jhteous,  the  wicked ; '  the  good, 
[the  sinful] ;"  the  pure,  the  impure  ; 
Who  offers,  and  who  offers  not; 

who  swears,  and  who  fears  (all)  swearing/ 

11  Oft-  under  the  sun  have  I  seen  ii 

that  the  race  is  not  to  the  swift, 
Nor  (does)  the  battle  (bechance)  to  the  strong, 

Nor  (does)  bread  (befall)  to  the  wise; 
Nor  to  the  intelligent,  riches; 

nor  favor  to  men  of  knowledge. 

On  time  and  chance  hang  all  things,  iii 

12  '  yet  his  own  time  no  man  knows : 
Like  fishes  enmeshed  in  a  ''net, 

or  birds  ensnared  in  a  springe. 
So  the  sons  of  men^are  entrapped 

at  the  time  w'hen  evil  'befalls  them. 

8,  14     A  vanity  3  ^done  on  this  earth  is  iv 

that  righteous'  are  found  whose  estate 
Is  the  same*  as  though  they  were  wicked;" 
and  wicked'  there  are  whose  estate 


(")  9i  2    good  as  well  as  sinful 


(3)  3  This  is  an  evil,  that,  no  matter  what  is  done  under  the  sun,  the 
same  fate  happens  to  all;  yet  the  mind  of  the  sons  of  men 
is  full  of  evil,""  and  afterward  [they  go  down]  to  the  dead. 

(/ )         12  for  (fi)  evil  (f)  suddenly  (-")  8,  14  which  fs 

{'/)  7,  20  There  is  no  one  righteous  on  earth, 
who  practices  good  and  sins  not. 


(''")  9i  3     •^"<^'  madness  is  in  their  miiKls  during  their  lives 


14  — »'*e#^3s-  (Bccfe0ta0t«0  ^«^#»«* — 

8,         Is  the  same  as  though  they  were  righteous; 
this  also,  methought,  is  vanity." 

lo    And  thus  have  I  noticed  the  wicked'  v 

interred  and  entering  [into  peace], s 

Excluding  from  sanctified  ground^ 

those  who  had  (always)  done  right;' 

In  the  city^  they  were  forgotten ; 

this  also,  [methought,]  is  vanity.3 

7,  15   'A  good  man  may  perish,  though  righteous ;  ">        vi 
a  bad  one  may  live  long,  though  wicked.^ 

16  Be  therefore  not  over-righteous, 

neither  show  thyself  over- wise  j ' 

17  Be  thou  not  over-wicked, 

neither  be  thou  a  fool.' 

Why  wilt  thou  ruin  thyself  vii 

and  die  before  thy  time? 
18*  Well  is  it  to  hold  on  to  this, 

and  not  to  withdraw  from  that. 
10,  i^  More  precious  than  wisdom'  and  honor^ 
[at  times] '°  is  somewhat  of  folly.' 


(t?)  8,   II  Since  judgment  does  not  (always)  follow 
with  speed,  on  deeds  that  are  evil, 
The  mind  of  the  sons  of  men 

is  full "  in  their  hearts  '^  to  do  evil. 

12  But  ^^  if  a  sinner  sin  hundreds  of  times, 

and  lengthen  the  days  of  his  life, 
Yet  am  I  (fully)  assured, 

it  is  well  with  those  who  fear  God.'^'*'* 

13  And  it  will  not  be  well  with  the  wicked, 

and  he  will  not  lengthen  his  days,"" 
Who  bears  no  fear  in  his  heart, 

of  God,  (nor  keeps  His  commandments). 

(t)    7,  15  All  this  have  I  seen  in  the  days  of  my  vanity  '* 


(Xk)  8,  12  since 

{im)  who  fear  Him  9,  ia3  because  the  righteous  and  the  wise  '  ajtd  their 

works  are  in  the  hand  of  God 
{vv^       13  like  a  shadow  1* 


— »-*«#e6»-  (Bccf«0ta6(«e  -50%*§6»i-« —  rs 

III. 

5,  I     Take  heed  to  thy  feet '  whenever  i 

thou  goest  to  the  house  of  God ; 
To  draw  nigh  to  Hsten  [to  homihes]  ^ 

is  better  than  fools  giving  sacrifices ;  3 
For  they  never  know  [what  they  do, 

and  never  cease]  to  do  evil. 

2     Be  not  rash  with  thy  mouth,  ii 

and  in  thy  mind  be  not  hasty 
To  utter  a  word  before  God ; 

"  let  the  words  (of)  thy  (mouth)  be  few  !  ^ 
For  God,  He  is  in  Heaven,* 

and  thou  art  (here)  upon  earth. 


4  Whenever  thou  makest  a  vow,''  iii 

put  thou  not  off  its  fulfilment;* 
For  no  one  takes  pleasure  in  fools. 
Whatever  thou  vowest,  fulfil ! 

5  Far  better  it  is  not  to  vow 

than  vow  and  not  to  fulfil. 

6  Let  not  thy  mouth  bring  on'  guilt  iv 

and  then  say,^  It  is  but  an  error; 
Lest  "anger  be  roused  at  thy  statement, 

and  the  work  of  thy  hands  be  distrained.^ 
6,  n  "Too  much  talking  multiplies  vanities, — 
thereof  what  profit  has  man  ? 


(n)    5,  2    therefore 

(/3)        3     P'or  as  dreams  come  from  mucli  occupation, 

so  statements  of  fools  from  mucli  talkin^.pp 
7a   In  many  a  dream  there  are  vanities, 

and  (to)  vanities  (leads)  much  talking. 
(7)        4    to  God  (f5)  7b  for  fear  God  (*)  6  thy  person 

(:)         6    before  the  messenger  (of  the  Temple)   ('/)  God's   (i9)  6,  11  for 


{pp)  10,  I4»  a  fool  talks  much 


i6  — »<4<^^:s-  Bcdeei&eUe  -^m^^^- — 

7,  I      Far  better  than  flavor  is  favor,^  v 

and  the  day  of  death  than  of  birth, 

2'^    And  to  enter  a  house  of  mourning' 
than  enter  a  house  of  feasting, 

5     To  hear  the  rebuke  of  a  wiseman 
than  hst  to  the  song  of  fools.' 

8  Better  is  ending  than  starting,  vi 

than  haughtiness  better  is  patience.  ^ 

9  Be  not  hasty  in  spirit  to  worry; 

this  ^  abides  in  the  bosom  of  fools. 

10  'How  comes  it,'  ask  not,  'that  the  pasf* 

was  better  far  than  the  present  ? ' " 


4,  13    A  youth,  poor  and  wise,  is  better  ^  vii 

than  a  king  who  is  old  and  foolish. 
And  never  knows  how  to  take  warning, 

[but  through  pride  of  his  heart  is  exalted;]^ 


(')  7      2b  Since  to  all  men  this  is  the  ending, 
let  the  Hving  lay  it  to  heart. 

3  Far  better  is  worry  than  laughter, 

a  sad-faced  man  is  in  tune." 

4  The  mind  of  the  wise  is  with  mourners, 

the  mind  of  a  fool  is  with  mirth. 

(k)         6    Like  the  crackling  of  nettles'^  under  kettles, 
so  is  the  laughter  of  fools. <^<^ 

(?)        9    worry     (//)  10  times     (i')  thou  enquires!  not  wisely  about  this 

(f)  10,16     Woe,  thou  land  whose  king  is  a  boy  !'^ 

whose  princes  eat"  in  the  morning." 
17     Hail,  thou  land  whose  king  is  highborn, 
whose  princes  eat"  at  due  seasons  I"" 


(aa)    7>    6  this,  too,  is  vanity 

{tt)  10,  19a  With  laughter  they  are  feasting, 
and  wine  gladdens  life. 

(vv)  17  for  strength,  and  not  for  drinking'* 


4,  14    Though  (t)hc  (youth)"  be  the  issue  of  outcasts '5 
and  born  fi\)ni  the  poor  of  his  kingdom.^ 

15  The  hving  who  walk  under  the  sun,  viii 

I  noted,  were  all  for  the  youth  ■" 

16  No  end  there  was  of  the  people 

before  whom  he  stood  (as  a  leader). 
But  anon  they  cease  to  admire  him ; 

this,  too,  is  vanity  and  a  striving  for  wind.'° 

IV. 

10,  5    One  evil  I  saw  under  the  sun  i 

is  a  blunder  "on  the  part  of  the  ruler: 

6  The  fools'  are  lifted  on  high, 

while  worthies'^  remain  in  low  station.' 

7  I  have  noted  servants  on  horseback, 

and  princes  going  on  foot.'' 

3,  16 ''In  the  place  of  justice  is  wickedness;  ii 

in  the  place  of  righteousness,  outrage. 
18  '  I  said  to  myself  in  my  heart,  * 

for  men's  sake  this  is  (permitted) 
That  they  may^  see  and  perceive 

that  their  very  selves  are  beasts. 


(")    4,  14  who  ascended  the  throne'* 

(^)        15  the  second'"  who  stepped  in  his  place'^ 


(n)  10,    5  proceeding  d'i)  6  rich  men  (} )  7  like  servants 

('')    3,  16  I  saw  repeatedly  under  the  sun 

(f)  17  I  said  (to  myself)  in  my  heart: 

the  righteous  as  well  as  the  wicked 
By  God  will  [surely]  be  judged; 

for  a  term  "  to  every  thing  ' 

And  to  every  deed  has  He  set ; 
15b         God  looks  after ''^  him  who  is  inirsued.'^ 

(C)         18  may  be  caused  by  God  to 


i8  ^-i«#^»s-  (Bccfcetaefea  -s^fa^-*— 

3,  19  "One  fate  is  to  man  and  to  beast :  iii 

as  one  dies,  so  dies  the  other; 
And  all  possess  the  same  soul,^ 

there  is  no  pre-eminence  in  man ; ' 

20  'From  dust  arose  (one  and)  all, 

and  to  dust  shall  all  again  turn. 3' 

21  Who  knows  if  the  soul'  of  man  iv 

ascends  on  high  (to  heaven)  ? 
(Who  can  tell)  if  the  soul'  of  beasts 
descends  below  to  Hades  ? '» — 

22  I  have  noted  that  nothing  is  better 

than  the  pleasure  one^  takes  in  his  work-S*^ 

4,  I    When  I  saw  again  (and  again)  v 

all  oppressions"  under  the  sun,^ 
And  the  tears  of  (all)  the  oppressed, 

with  no  one  to  right  their  wrongs;^ 
The  oppressors  with  power  supreme,^ 

with  no  one  to  right  their  wrongs;^ 


{v)        19  For  the  fate  of  the  sons  of  men 

and  the  fate  of  beasts  is  the  same. 

(«?)  over  the  beasts  (()  20  to  the  same  place  all  are  wending" 

(«)         19  for  all  is  vanity  (A)  22  man 

(//)         22  for  this  is  his  portion; 

For  who  can  bring  him  to  see 

what  is  to  happen  hereafter?'^ 

10,.  14'' Man  cannot  know  aught  of  the  future ; 

who  can  tell  him  what  will  happen  hereafter? 

(1')    4.     I  that  are  practiced 

(•f)    7>    7  Though  oppression  may  madden  a  wiseman, 
a  gift"*  may  corrupt  the  mind. 

8,    9b  Sometimes  a  man  acts  the  tyrant 

over  others  to  his  (own)  disadvantage." 


Bcctteiaette 


"9 


4,  2      Then  I  praised  the  (lot  of  the)  dead"  vi 

more  than  that  of  the  hving  who  still  are,"" 
3     And  happier  than  both  [I  consider] 

him  who  is  not  yet  come  into  being, 
Who  never  has  seen  (all)  the  /^ doings 

that  are  done  (here)  under  the  sun.' 


5,  8  Whenever  oppression  of  the  needy, 
deprivation  of  justice  and  right 
In  any  province  thou  notest, 

be  not  alarmed  at  the  matter. 

A  higher  one  watches  the  high  one, 
and  over  all  is  the  Most  High. 
9  After  all ''  a  country  will  profit — 
a  civilized''*  land — by  a  king." 

8,  2  I  [say],  Observe  the  king's  command 

If  only  for  the  oath  of  God.'" 


Do  not  be  rash 
Nor  take  a  stand 

For  he  can  do 
WHio  can  ask  him : 


5  Who  lives  the  law 
A  wise  mind  knows 

6  Though  one's  distress 

10,  4  Should  the  ruler's  wrath -^ 
Leave  not  thy  place, 
Composure  abates  ^* 

2o  Not  even  in  bed 
Nor  in  thy  chamber 
For  birds  of  air 
And  things  with  wings 

7,  21  But  pay  no  heed 
Or  thou  wilt  hear 
22  At ^*  times  (indeed) 
That  thou  thyself 

(o)  4,  2  who  were  already  dead 


and  run  from  him, 
in  bad  affairs  ;^^ 

just  as  he  likes, "« 
What  doest  thou?" 

will  find  no  harm;^'* 
due  time  and  way,^*^^ 
lie  heavy  on  him. 

be  stirred  against  thee, 
nor  run  from  him; 
the  greatest  wrongs. 

curse  thou  the  king, 
curse  one  in  power; " 
may  carry  words, 
may  tell  the  tale!^ 

to  ever>'  word.TV 
thy  servant  curse  thee, 
thine  own  heart  knows 
hast  cursed    thy  fellows. 

(tt)  living 


(a«)  8,  4  since  the  word  of  the  king  is  supreme*' 
(/5/3)  6  there  is  due  time  and  way  for  all  things 
(//)  7.  21  which  they  say 


in)  3  evil 


((5(5)  22  many 


I  ^-i»Hs|**>-  (Eccfcetaetce  -^m^s^^^*^- 

6,  3     If  of  children  a  man  have  a  hundred,  vii 

■^and  the  days  of  his  years  be  many,'° 
And  he  have  not  plenty  of  happiness/ 
an  abortion  is  luckier  than  he  is;" 

5  Though  it  never  has  seen  the  sun,**" 

it  is  far  better  off  than  that  man.^ 

V. 

4,  4     I  have  seen"  that  (the  end  of)  all  toiling,  i 

and  whatever  in  work  is  efficient, 
Is  (mere)  competition  with  neighbors  -^ 

this,  too,  is  vanity  and  a  striving  for  wind. 

6  '^A  handful'  with  quiet  is  better  ii 

than  double  handfuls^  with  toiling. 


{o)  6,  3  and  he  live  a  great  many  years 

(r)  and  also  if  he  have  no  burial''' 

('')       4  Though  in  vain  it  comes  and  goes,"'" 

and  its  name  is  covered  with  darkness. 

(0)       5  and  felt  (anything) 

(,t)      6  And  if  he   should   live   a   thousand   years  twice,  and « enjoy 
happiness,  are  not  all  going  to  the  same  place? 

II,  7  Sweet  is  the  light,  and  it  is  fair 
for  the  eyes  to  enjoy  the  sun. 

8  But  Ci  live  one  for  many  a  year, 

and  be  glad  from  beginning  to  end,^^ 
Let  him  bear  ever  in  mind 

that  many  a  dark  ^^  day  will  come. 


(")  4-  4  I 

(/?)  6,  7  All  the  toil  of  a  man  is  to  eat," 

yet  his  appetite  never  is  filled. 

(} )  4,  5  With  folded  arms  stands  the  fool, 

and  his  own  flesh  he  consumes." 

10,  i8  Through  sloth  the  rafters  fall  in, 

the  house  through  idleness"  leaks. 


(«)     6,   6  not  (^n  II,  8  in  case 

(rr)  10,  i8  of  the  hands 


-^•^"^^^6-  (Sccf«0ta0tce  ->j^*ge**'«^- 

6,  9     Better  that  which  is  seen  with  the  eyes^ 

than  day-dreams ■»  'and  a  strivin<^f  for  wind.' 

5,  lo    Never  sated  ^  is  he  who  loves  money;  iii 

and  he  who  dehghts  in  abundance, 
His  income  will  never  suffice  himjS 

this,  too,  is  vanity  and  a  striving  for  wind. 

11  Whenever  possessions  increase,  iv 

Those  also  increase  who  consume  them; 
What  profit  then  has  the  possessor 

save  the  looking  thereon  witli  his  eyes?^ 

12  The  sleep  of  the  plowman  is  sweet,  v 

whether  scanty  or  ample  his  fare; 
But  the  rich  man's  superabundance 
will  not  allow  him  to  slumber. 


4,  7     Again  (and  again)  have  I  noted  vi 

a  vanity 7  under  the  sun: 
8     A  man  without  a  companion, 

with  never  a  son  or  a  brother. 

And  yet  he  toils  on  without  ceasing,  vii 

his  eyes  are  never  sated  with  riches ; 
[He  thinks  not,]  for  whom  am  I  toiling, 
denying  myself  (every)  pleasure?"* 


10,  15  Fools'  toil '"  may  keep  a  man  busy,'* 

who  knows  not  the  way  to  the  town.'-* 

(f5)    6,    9  this,  too,  is  vanity 

(e)  8b What  (drawback)  is  there  to  a  poorman 

who  tactfully  deals  with  the  world?'® 

(C)     5,  10  with  money  ('/)  4,  8  this,  too,  is  vanity  and  hard  work 

(»9)    4,    9  Two  are  better  than  one; 

for  well  their  toil  is  rewarded." 
10  If  [both]  should  happen  to  fall, 

the  one  can  raise  up  the  other ; 


6,  I      There  is  an  evil'  I  have  seen  under  the  sun,         viii 
and  it  Hes  very  heavy  on  men : 
2     A  man  to  whom  has  been  given' 

(great)  wealth,  and  treasures,  and  honor; 

Whereby  in  nought  is  he  lacking  ix 

of  all  the  desires  of  his  heart; 
But  he  is  not  allowed^  to  enjoy  it — 

a  stranger  (comes  and)  enjoys  it.** 

5,  13    An(other)  sore  evil  I  noted:"  x 

(it  is)  wealth  guarded  (close)  by  its  owner,^ 
14    But"  lost  in  spite  of  hard  labor, 

so  that  nothing"  is  left^  for  his  son.'' 


18^  Lo,  this  is  what  I  have  noted,  xi 

which  is  (truly)  good  and  befitting  :'° 


4,         But  woe  unto  him  who  falls 

with  no  one  (near)  to  upraise  him! 

11  Again,  when  two  sleep  together, 

they  are  warm  ;  but  how  is  it,  when  single?^* 

12  And  if  one  man  make  an  attack, 

two  surely  will  withstand  him.i'*' 

[sore  evil 
(0     6,    I  which     (/v)  2  by  God     {?■)  by  God     [u)  this  is  vanity  and  a 

{^)    5.  13  under  the  sun  {i)  to  (the  time  of)  his  misfortune 

{o)  14  this  wealth  (tt)  at  all 

{p)         15  As  he  came  forth    from  his  mother's  womb, 
Again  all  naked,      as  he  came,  he  goes.^* 

Nought  at  all  can  he  take  along, 
in  spite  of  toil,  not  a  handful.™ 
16  This  evil,  too,  is  grievous : 

precisely  as  he  came,  he  goes. 

What  profit  has  he    who  toils  for  wind? 


(w)  4,  12  And  a  threefold  cord  is  not  quickly  broken 


5,         To  eat,  and  drink,  and  be  merry 
in  spite  of  all  our  toiling.'^ 

VL 

I,  14  T  hav'e  taken  (due)  note  of  all  doings'         '  i 

that  are  done  (here)  under  the  sun;" 
And  lo,  each  one  is  a  vanity,- 

and  [all]  is  a  striving  for  wind. 
15    The  crooked  cannot  be  straightened, 

what  is  lackinij  can  not  be  made  efood/ 


(tr)    5,  i8b  Wherewith  he  toils  under  the  sun 

the  numbered-'  days  of  his  life, 
Which  have  been  allotted  by  God ; 
for  this  is  (all  of)  his  portion. 

19  But  every  man  to  whom  are  given** 
Wealth  and  treasures,          with  leave  to  taste  v^them, 
And  carr>'  off  his  portion,  and  enjoy  his  toiling, 

(Must  always  hold  it)  a  gift  of  God.-- 

20  He  will  not  think -/"^  of        his  days  of  life, 
When  God  absorbs  -'^  his  mind  with  pleasure. 


(a)    I,  12  I,  Ecclesiastes,**  who  (once)  was  King® 

Over  Israel  in  Jerusalem, 

13  Set  my  heart  to  seek  and  sift,'" 
By  wisdom,  all  done '  under  heaven. 
It  is  a  sore  task  which  God  has  given 
To  sons  of  men,  whereon  to  fret. 

3,  ID  The  task  I  have  seen,     which  God  has  given 
To  sons  of  men,  whereon  to  fret. 

8,    93  All  this  have  I  seen,       and  set  my  heart 

On  all  the  doings  done'  under  the  sun. 

(,,3)    9,  laaAll  this  I  laid  to  heart, 

and  all  this  saw  my  heart. 

{y)    7.  13  Consider  the  work  of  God: 

who  straightens  a*  what  He  has  made  crooked? 

14  In  days  that  are  happy,  be  happy; 

in  unhappy,  consider  that  God 


(*0)  5.  ^9  ^y  Go^  (xx)  sometliing  of  {<I'<P)  20  much 

(aa)  7,  13  that 


24  -—^-i^^^S^  (Eccfeetaefee  ^a?*^** — 

I,  i6  'I  was  greater  and  acquired  more  wisdom 
than  any  of  my  predecessors ; ' 

17  But  when  I  set  my  heart  to  learn  wisdom/ 

I  learned,  it  was  a  striving  for  wind.'' 

18  More  wisdom  is  (merely)  more  worry; 

and  increase  of  knowledge,  more  grief. 


7,  Made  both  the  one  and  the  other, 

but  in  such  a  way  that  no  man 
Can  find  out  what  will  be  hereafter;" 

[this,  too,  is  vanity  and  a  striving  for  wind]. 

29  Consider  but  this  :  I  have  found 

That  God  has  made         all  men  upright; 
But  they  have  sought      many  inventions.  ^^ 

3,  14^^  Whatever  God  does,        will  be  for  ever; 

Nought  can  be  added,     and  nought  subtracted." 
God  has  so  done  to  make  men  fear  Him. 

{6)  I,    16  I  said  to  myself  as  follows:  Lo,  I 

(f)  over"  Jerusalem,  and  my  mind  has  seen'^  much  wisdom  ^^  and 

^^  learning 
(C)         17  and  to  learn  madness  and  folly 

{ri)  8,   i6aWhen  I  set  my  heart  to  learn  wisdom  and  to  consider  the  task 

17  which  is  performed  on  the  earth,  I  saw  that  man  cannot  find  out 

7Vthe  doings  which  are  done^  under  the  sun;  however  much  a 

man  may  toil  to  seek,  he  cannot  find  it;  and  even  if  a  wise  man 

thinks  he  knows  (it)  he  cannot  find  it.'® 

3,  II  All  things  He *s  has  made  befitting  their  season;" 

Yet  He  has  veiled  their  mental  vision,'* 

So  that  no  man  can  ever  find  out 

What  He  has  done  from  first  to  last. 

7,  23  All  this  with  wisdom  I  tested," 

but  it  was  beyond  my  reach;  '* 

24  Beyond  me  '*  is  what  has  been, 

and  deep^i—  who  can  find  it? 


(/3/3)  3,  14  I  know  that  all 

(>} )  8,  17  all  the  doings  of  God 

((5(5)  3,  II  God  (")  7,  23  I  thought  I  would  be  wise  {iC)  24  deep* 


-^"t-el^Ke-  <Bcc(eeia0tc0  -st^i^**—  25 

a,  12^  *When  I  turned  to  make  a  comparison  iii 

between  wisdom,  and  madness,  and  folly, 

13  I  saw'  that  there  lay  some  advantage 

in  wisdom  w^hen  placed  beside  folly:' 

14  The  wise  man  has  eyes  in  his  head, 

but  fools  walk  (ever)  in  darkness. 

And  yet  I  also  perceived  iv 

one  fate  befalling  them  all; 

15  And  then  in  my  mind  I  remarked : 

Since  the  fate  of  the  fool  wilT  be  mine, 
What  gain'^  has  my  great  wisdom  brought  me? 3" 
this  also,  methought^  is  a  vanity."^ 


i'^)   7i  25  I  turned  my  attention  to  learn  '^^  and  to  explore  and  investigate 
with  wisdom-'  and  '^'^ reasoning,')') 

(')     2,  13  I  (k)  like  the  advantage  of  light  over  darkness 

(/*.)         15  also  (fi)  then  for  me  {i)  in  my  mind 

(i')    6,    8a for  what  advantage  has  the  wise  man  over  the  fool? 

(o)    8,     I  Who  is  as  the  wiseman  ?"  and  who 

can  interpret  the  (meaning  of)  things? 
A  man's  wisdom  illumines,'*'* 

and  the  coarseness  of  his  face  is  changed 

7,  II  As  good  as  a  heritage  is  wisdom," 
nay,  better  it  is  for  the  living ;" 
12  For  wisdom  protects,  just  as  money; 

but  wisdom"  gives  life  to  its  master.** 

10,    2  At  the  right-*  is  the  heart^'  of  the  wiseman, 
at  the  left  hand"*  the  heart '^'  of  a  fool ; 
3  In  a  business*'  -^-^a  fool  undertakes, 
i^i^he  reveals  to  all,  he  is  a  fool. 

12  The  words  of^  the  wise  are  grace(ful), 

but  the  lips  of  a  fool  embroil'"  him. 

13  The  first  words  of  his  mouth  are  folly, 

and  the  last  of  his  mouth  is  ►'•'madness. 


(w)    7,  25  that  is,  to  learn  that  wickedness  is  foolishness,^  and  folly  madness 
(^i?)8,     I  his  face  (")  7.  12  the  advantage  of  knowledge  is  : 

{kk)  10,  lobthe  advantage  of  wisdom-'  is  efficiency 

19b  yet  money  grants  every  thing 
(^/)         3  as  soon  as  (Ai>i)his  mind  fails  him  (>'»')  13  evil 


26  —^^'f-e^msf^  ^cdteiaetee  ^^i©^-^ 

a,  i6    The  wiseman  is  not  remembered 

no  more  than  the  fool,  for  ever." 
17    So  Hfe  became  to  me  hateful, 

disgust  overcame  me  at'*  the  doings 
That  are  done  (here)  under  the  sun ; 

all  is  vanity  and  a  striving  for  wind. 


9,  13    I  once  saw  (an  instance  of)  wisdom 5  vi 

under  the  sun,  which  deeply  impressed  me : 
14    A  small  town  there  was,  with  few  in  it, 
and  a  powerful  king  came  against  it. 
And  to  it  laid  siege,  and  erected 
against  it  powerful  bulwarks.^ 

15^  Now  there  was  in  the  town  a  poor  wiseman         vii 

who  dehvered  the  place  by  his  wisdom/ 
16*  And  I  thought,"^  above  valor  is  wisdom,^ 
18^         "above  weapons  of  war  is  wisdom ;"'' 
15^  But  the  people  bore  not  in  remembrance 
that  man  so  poor  (and  so  wise).^ 


(1")  2,  i6b  inasmuch  as  in  future  days  ever>'thing  will  have  been  forgotten; 
and  how  does  the  wiseman  die? — just  as  the  fool ! 

(p)    7>  19  -^  Wiseman's  wisdom  is  stronger 

than  ten  rulers  who  aref^  in  the  city. 

{<y)    9,  i6al,  far3»  (v)  18  far ^^ 

(-)         iS^But  the  wisdom  of  the  poor  is  despised, 
and  no  one  takes  heed  to  his  words ; 

17  Though  the  tranquil  words  of  the  wiseman  °° 
top  the  shout  of  the  king  of  fools.'" 

{<p)  10,    i^A  fly  that  is  dead  may  make  rancid""'  the  spicer's  balm;^* 
9,  1 8b One  man  who  is  a  traitor'  may  ruin      much  that  is  good. 


(f')  7.  19  "were  (oo)  9,  17  are  heard  (above)  ("")  10,  la  fetid 


■•'i^msL)^  BcdteiaeUe  -^ga^t-o  27 

VII. 

a,  I      I  said  to  myself  in  my  heart :  i 

Come  on,  I  will  try  thee  with  pleasure : 
[Take  pleasure]  and  have  a  good  time  ! 
but  lo,  even  this,  too,  was  vanity. 

2  Of  laughter  I  thought,  it  is  mad ; 

and  of  pleasure,  what  does  it  avail?' 

3  I  rev'olved  in  my  mind  how  to  quicken*"  ii 

my  flesh,**  and  to  lay  hold  on  folly, 
Until  I  might  (clearly)  discover 

what  is  good  for  the  sons  of  men, 
Which  they  may  enjoy  3  under  the  sky 

the  numbered'*  days  of  their  life.'' 

4  I  engaged  in  great  works,  and  I  built  me  iii 

(large)  mansions,  and  planted  me  vineyards ; 

5  I  laid  out  gardens  and  parks, 

and  planted  5  all  sorts  of  fruit  trees. 

6  Pools ■*  also  I  made  me  to  water' 

a  nursery  full  of  young  trees. ^ 

7'''    Both  bondmen  and  bondmaids  I  purchased,  iv 

and  slaves  were  born  in  my  house  ;^ 

8     I  amassed  both  silver  and  gold, 

and  the  products  of  realms  and  of  regions. 
I  got  singers,  both  male  and  female, 

and  the  delin-hts  of  the  sons  of  men." 


(fl)    2,    3  with  wine  (^)  but  my  mind  was  guiding  with  wisdom" 

(} )    6,  12a  For  who  knows  what  is  good  for  man^'^ 

the  numbered*  days  of  his  MMvanity  ?"" 

(f!)    2,    6  of  water  (f)  from  them 

(s)  7^1  also  had  plenty  of  cattle, ff 

more  than  any  of  my  predecessors. "o 

[jj)  8  a  mistress  and  mistresses'* 


(/./)  6,  laain  life       (mm)  life  of       (•'►')  that  is,  he  spends  them  like  a  shadow^ 
(ff)    2,  715 herds  and  flocks  (00)  in  Jerusalem 


28  ^**e^^is-  BcciteiaeUe  •sa^^^*^— 

2,    9    I  was  great,  more  eminent  than  any 
ever  before  in  Jerusalem/ 
lo    Whatever  my  eyes  desired, 

that,  I  withheld  not  from  them ; 
Nor  did  I  deny  my  heart  'pleasure;' 

and  this  was  my  portion  in  ^my  toil. 


II    For  when  I  turned  to  '"the  toil(s)7  vi 

which  I  had  toiled  to  create. 
Behold,  it  was  vanity  all," 

there  is  no  profit  under  the  sun. 
i8    So  I  hated^  all  my  toil(s)7 

wherein  I  toiled  under  the  sun.° 

12^  For  what^  will  he"  be  who  succeeds  me?*"  vii 

19  ''and  who  knows  if  wise  he  will  be'' 
Yet  will  he  rule  over  all  my  toil(s)7 

which  have  cost  me  such  toil  and  such  wisdom.9" 

20  So  at  last  I  began*  to  despair '° 

concerning  all  toils  ^  of  my  toiling.^ 

21  For  is  there"  a  man  who  has  toiled  viii 

with  wisdom,  and  knowledge,  and  skill, 
To  him  who  has  not  toiled  for  it 

he  must  leave'^  it.'''     This,  too,  is  vanity!" 


{■&)  2,  9  but  my  wisdom  (always)  remained  with  me 

(0  10  any          («)  for  my  mind  had  pleasure  of  all  my  toil          {^)  all 

{/i)  II  all  the  "works  which  my  hands  had  created  and 

(v)  and  a  striving  for  wind                                                          (f )  18  I 

(o)  18  because  I  must  leave  it  to  my  successor 

(:r)  12b the  man            (p)  the  king  whom  they  have  already  appointed 

(a)  6,  12b  For  who  can  tell  any  man, 

what  will  be  after  him  under  the  sun?" 

(t)  2,  19  or  foolish                      (v)  this,  too,  is  vanity                      (0)  20  I 

{x)  20  under  the  sun           {f)  21  his  portion          (w)  and  a  great  evil 


I  ••i*:mi»-  ecdceiaetie  -mi^i-*  29 

2,  22    What  then  accrues  '3  to  a  man 

from  ""his  toil  and  the  striving  of  his  mind?*'* 

23    Though  all  his  days  be  grievous, '-^  ix 

and  his  task  be  full  of  worry, '5" 
And  his  mind  find  no  rest  at  night ; " 

this,  too,  is  (all)  but  vanity. 
24^  Nought  is  good  "  but  to  eat,  and  drink, 

and  (try)"  to  have  a  good  time.'^"" 

8,  15    So  pleasure  I  commend,  x 

since  nought  is  good*'  for  man" 
But  eating,  and  drinking,  and  pleasure, 

which  to  him  will  cling  in  his  toil 
Throughout  his  allotment  of  days" 

under  the  sun ;  [his  portion  it  is.] 


(rta)  2,  22  all  (/3,3)  whereon  he  toils  under  the  sun 

(/7)   5-  17  Even  if  his  days  are  all  gloomy,*" 
and  full  of  sorrow  and  worry. "«• 

(c5(5)    8,  i6b  Even  if  by  day  and  by  night 

he  does  not  get  any  sleep. pp 

(ee)   2,  24  for  man  (CO  in  spite  of  his  toil 

(w)  Again  have  I  also  seen 

that  this  depends'^'  upon  God  ; 

25  For  who  can  find  pleasure  in  eating 

and  in  any  sensation"  without  Him? 

26  To  the  man  whom  He  deems  good,-' 

He  gives  wisdom,  and  knowledge,  and  pleasure; 
But  on  the  sinner  He  imposes  the  task 

of  gathering,  amassing,  and  yielding  it 
To  him  whom  God  deems  good;''-^ 

this,  too,  is  vanity  and  a  striving  for  wind. 

(^1^)  3.  12  I  know,  there  is  nothing  good'^ 

but  pleasure  and  enjoyment''^  of  life. 
13  But  every  man  (on  the  earth) 

who  eats,  and  drinks,  and  enjoys 
Any  happiness  in  all  of  his  toiling, 
(must  hold  it  as)  a  gift  of  God.'^* 

(")    8,  15  under  the  sun  (««)  (allotted  to  him)  by  God 


("""')  5>  '7  ^"d  illness  and  vexation  (99)  8,  i6b  in  his  eyes 


30  — ^^<^^»-  (Bccheiaeiitf  -nnm^a-i-^—  ^ 

VIII. 
9,  7     Go,  eat  thy  bread  with  pleasure,  i 

and  drink  thy  wine  with  cheer ; " 

8  And  white  be  (all)  thy  garments,^ 

and  oil  for  the  head  unfailing.' 

9  Be  happy  ^  with  a  woman '^  thou  lov^est,  ii 

through  all  the  days  of  thy  vanity ;  3* 
For  this  is  thy  portion  in  life, 

.in  thy  toiling'  under  the  sun. 

lo     Whatever  thy  hand  may  find  iii 

to  do  with  thy  strength — do  it !  * 
For  work  there  is  none,  nor  planning, 

nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom  in  Sheol.^" 


1  Send  thy  breadcorn  across  the"  water,  iv 

though  it  take  many  days, — thou  wilt  regain  it ; 

2  But  apportion  it  'twixt  seven  or'  eight  (ships)  ;^ 

for  what'  may  happen,  thou  knowest  not.^ 


(a)      9,  7  when  God  has  sanctioned  thy  doings 

(/?)  8  throughout  all  time  (} )  9  whom 

(f5)  9  Allotted  to  thee  under  the  sun 

(through)  all  the  days  of  thy  vanity.^ 

(e)  wherewith  thou  art  toiling  (:)  lo  whither  thou  art  going 

{v)  4  because  for  him  who  is  associated  with  all  the  living,  there  is 

some  hope ;  for  indeed  ' '  a  living  dog  is  better  than  a  dead  lion. ' ' 

5  Though  the  living  know  that  they  must  die,  the  dead  do  not 
know  anything,  and  they  have  no  reward  any  more ;  for  their 

6  memory  is  forgotten — their  love  as  well  as  their  hate,'^'^  and 
their  passions  are  all  over,  and  nevermore  have  they  any 
share  in  anything  that  is  done  under  the  sun 

(i9)   II,  I  face  of  the  (0  2  even  to  (k)  evil  on  the  earth 

(/)     8,  7  As  he  knows  not  what  will  happen; 

who  can  tell  him  when  it  will  happen? 

9,  lb P  Man  knows  not  all  that  is  in  store  for^  him 


(nn)  9,  iba  love  as  well  as  hatred 


vin  «-»«j»e@af  Cccfeetaetee  ^gsj»»»- 

II,  3     If  clouds  be  full  [of  water],  v 

they  pour  down  rain  on  the  earth  ; 
If  southward*^  a  tree  should  fall,*' 
wherever  it"  fall,  there  it  lies.^ 

10,  S     Whoso  digs  a  pit  may  fall  in  it,^  vi 

who  pulls  down," — a  snake  may  bite  ;^ 
9     Who  quarries  stones  may  be  hurt  therewith  ; 
who  cleaves  wood,  may  be  injured. 

lo^    If  the  [edge  of  the]  iron  be  blunt,''  vii 

it  needs  more  strength  [in  the  using]. ^ 

II      If  the  snake,  before  charming,  should  bite, 
his  charms  avail  not  the  charmer. '° 

11,  4     Who  watches  the  u^ind  will  not  sow,  viii 

who  looks  to  the  clouds  will  not  reap ; " 
6     So  scatter  thy  seed  in  the  morning, 

withhold  not  thy  hand  at  evening. '^p 


31 


(/")  II,    3  ornorthward  (v)  the  tree 

ii)     8,    S  No  man  has  control  of  the  wind,/Si3 

nor  is  any  control  of  the  death-day. 
Just  as  no  release  is  in  war ;  •'* 

nor  will  wickedness  save  its  adherents. 

II,    5  Inasmuch  as  thou  dost  not  know 

the  (future)  course  of  the  wind, 
Or  the  bones  in  the  womb  of  the  pregnant,*" 

even  so  canst  thou  never  know 
[Every]  work  (and  action)  of  God 
who  does  (and  ordains)  all  this. 

{")  10,    S  a  wall"  {-)  10  that  is,  if  he  has  not  ground  the  (ax-)head 

if))  II,    6  For  thou  knowest  not     which  will  thrive, yy 
Or  whether  both  will  be  good  alike. 


(/?/?)  8,8  tocheck  the  wind  (yv)ii,6  theone  or  the  other 


32  -^■^^l^fs-  Bcciteiaette  ^s^^s*-*— 

II,  9     Take  pleasure,  O  youth,  in  thy  boyhood, '3  ix 

in  the  days  of  thy  youth  be"' joyous  I'' 
lo^    Cast  worrying  out  of  thy  mind, 

but  keep  away  ills  from  thy  body!^"*" 

la,  I      Remember  thy  well  '^  in*  thy  youth,  x 

ere  the  days  of  evil  approach, 
And  the  years  draw  nigh  wherein, 

thou  wilt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure. 

2     Ere  the  sun  become  obscured,  xi 

and  the  light,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars; 
The  clouds  return  after  rain, 
II,  lo^  for  boyhood  and  black  hair  are  vanities/^ 


12,  3     When  the  keepers  of  the  house '^  are  trembling,  xii 
and  the  men  of  strength  '^  are  bending ; 

(a)    II,  9  thy  mind 

(r)  Just  walk  in  the  ways  of  thy  heart 

and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes  ; " 
But  know  that  for  all  these  things 
to  judgment  God  will  bring  thee! 

(v)    7,  26  I  find  more  bitter  than  death 

a  woman *^  who  is  (all)  snares  ;*5 
He  who  is  good««  will  escape  her  ;^^ 
but  he  who  is  sinful,  be  caught. 

27  Lo,  this  I  have  found  out,')')  (counting) 

one  by  one,**  to  reach  the  result:*^ 

28  One  man  in  a  thousand  I  found  ;  *® 

but  a  woman,  ever  sought 
By  my  soul,  but  never  found," 
among  them  all  I  found  not. 

{(t>)  12,    I  in  the  days  of 


(66)  7,  26  and  her  heart  a  great  net,  and  her  arms  fetters  («)  before  God 

(CC)        iSbFor  he  who  fears  God    will  escape  them  all** 
(w)        27  said  Ecclesiastes*" 


viii  — »*^«Be-  (Eccfcetaetee  -^im^^*-*—  33 

12,         The  grinders '9  quit  work,  though  they  are  fewj 
Those  who  look  through  the  windows''°  are 

[darkened. 
4     And  barred  are  the  doors  of  egress,^'  xiii 

since  low  is  the  sound  of  the  mill;" 
And  we  rise  at  the  birds'  first  cheep, ^^ 

though  all  daughters  of  music  be  muffled. ^'^ 

5^    Whatever  is  high,  we  fearj's  xiv 

and  every  walk  is  a  terror. ^^ 
The  almond  tree  blossoms  ;^7  and  inert ^^ 

lies  the  chrysalis, ^^  till  the  soul 3°  emerges.^' 

6     Ere  the  cord  of  silver  3^  be  snapped,  xv 

and  the  golden  bowl  33  be  shivered, 
The  pitcher  at  the  fountain  be  shattered, 3^ 

and  the  wheel  35  at  the  well  breaks  down.^ 

5^    For  he"''  goes  to  his  home  everlasting, 3^  xvi 

and  the  mourners  37  go  about  m  the  street. 
8     O  vanity!"^  all  is  vanity! 
II,  s''  and  all  that  is  coming  is  vanity!*"" 


(x)  12,  7  the  dust  shall  return  to  the  earth  (to  become)  what  it  was  ;  but 
the  soul  *^  shall  return  to  God  who  gave  it 

(1/')  s^man  (u)  8  said  Ecclesiastes" 

(ww)        9  In  addition  to  the  fact  that  Ecclesiastes  *"  was  a  wise  man,  he 
continually  taught  the  people  knowledge,^'  thinking  out,  and 

10  composing,  and  arranging  many  lines.^  Ecclesiastes  tried  to 
find  pleasing^'  words,  but  what  is  written  is  correct.^'' <*>* 

11  Words  of  the  wise        are  like  points  of  goads, 
But  (firm)  as  nails"      are  the  verses  of  a  poem.''^** 

12  Besides,  my  son,  be  on  your  guard  against  these  (sayings);^ 
endless  is  the  making  of  books -^^  in  great  numbers;  but  too 
much  reading  wearies  the  flesh.'''' 

13  Let  us  hear  the  end  of  all  this  talk :  Fear  God  and  keep  His 

14  commandments;  that  is  (what)  every  man  (ought  to  do)."  God 
will  bring  all  doings  into  the  judgment  upon  all  that  is  hidden,^ 
be  it  good  or  evil. 


[leader.*^ 
(i?)?)l2,io  words  of  truth  (")  11  driven  in  (««)  they  were  given  by  one 


34  ^«<#«#^s>  (Tlotce  on  Bcdteiaeiis  -^fm^^i-'— 


(Uo^ee  on  (Bccfeeiae^ee. 

I. 

(i)  The  Greek  word  Ecclesiastes  (Heb.  Koheleth)  does  not  denote 
an  ecclesiastic  or  preacher,  but  one  who  addresses  an  ecclesia,  or  as- 
sembly, a  public  speaker  (Lat.  contionator)  or  lecturer  ( French  r(^;//d?r^«- 
cier)  especially  a  public  teacher  of  philosophy;  cf.  12,  9  (VIII,  ww). 

(2)  Lit,  breath  of  breaths,  i.  e.,  How  utterly  transitory  is  every- 
thing. The  Heb.  term  hebl  means  primarily  breath,  then  anything  as  un- 
substantial as  a  breath,  anything  that  is  in  vain,  i.  e.,  vanishes  as  easily 
as  a  breath  ;  hence  a  vain  pursuit,  a  fruitless  effort  {cf.  n.  10  on  III).  All 
is  vain,  without  any  real  value,  unsubstantial  and  idle,  fruitless,  ineffec- 
tual, useless,  futile,  unavailing.  Ecclesiastes  uses  the  term  vanity  also 
in  the  sense  of  a  fact  illustrating  the  vanity  of  everything,  e.  g.  8,  14 
(II,  iv):  A  vanity  done  on  this  earth  is,  and  4,  7  (V,  vi):  I  have  noted  a 
vanity  under  the  sun.     Cf.  n.  $  on  VI. 

(3)  Lit.,  snorting.  This  refers  to  the  horses  [Phocbi  anheli  eqici, 
Ovid,  Metamorph.  15,  418)  of  the  chariot  of  the  sun  (2  K  23,  11).  The 
Heb.  verb  does  not  mean  'to  pant  from  fatigue.' 

(4)  Lit.,  to  the  place  whither  the  streams  are  going,  there  they 
return  to  go. 

(5)  Lit.,  wearying  themselves;  cf.  n.  14  on  V. 

(6)  Lit.,  the  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  and  the  ear  is  not  filled 
with  hearing. 

(7)  Overruling  necessity,  destiny. 

(8)  Lit.,  his  name  was  called,  an  old  Babylonian  phrase  for  to  exist 
The  cuneiform  account  of  Creation  begins:  At  the  time  when  the 
heavens  above  were  not  called,  nor  the  earth  below  had  a  name.  A 
name  is  the  expression  of  the  impression  ;  cf.  Gen.  2,  19. 

(9)  Lit.,  it  was  already  in  the  ages  that  were  before  us.  . 

(10)  Lit.,  there  is  no  remembrance  of  former  things. 

(11)  Lit.,  to  all  there  is  a  while,  /.  e.,  a  (short)  space  of  time  ;  cf. 
n.  II  on  IV. 

(12)  Prop.,  temporary;  lit.,  to  everything  there  is  a  time.  Nothing 
is  timeless,  termless,  interminable. 

(13)  Just  as  the  sea  is  never  full,  owing  to  the  constant  evaporation 
(Job  36,  27  ;  JAOS  17,  162)  of  the  water,  although  all  streams  run  into 
it,  so  deaths  counterbalance  births.  If  the  number  of  births  increases, 
the  mortality  among  the  infants  increases  ;  if  a  great  many  people  die, 
owing  to  epidemics,  wars,  famines,  &c.,  this  loss  is  offset  by  a  marked 
increase  in  the  number  of  marriages  and  births  ;  so  births  and  deaths  are 
transient  just  as  all  other  human  actions.     The  power  of  conception  and 


"  — »4«§^«f  (tiotte  on  €ccf<6td0fee  •«^«s*'«—  35 

the  capability  of  parturition  last  but  a  certain  time  (about  thirty  years), 
and  mortality  is  greater  in  certain  periods  of  life :  it  is  high  among  in- 
fants ;  then  it  decreases  up  to  the  thirteenth  year,  when  it  begins  to  in- 
crease again.  Even  the  greatest  mortality  in  the  most  deadly  epidemics 
lasts  but  a  limited  period.  The  Black  Death  in  the  xivth  century  raged 
for  three  years,  134S-1351,  but  was  followed  by  a  period  of  great  bles- 
sings with  a  marked  increase  in  the  birth-rate.  In  the  times  of  the  Mac- 
cabees a  philosopher  in  Palestine  might  have  observed  the  same  phe- 
nomena which  we  find  in  Germany  after  the  Thirty  Years'  War  (1618- 
1648).  The  first  three  decades  (170-143)  of  the  Maccabean  period 
(167-63  B.  c.)  might  be  called,  in  some  respects,  the  Thirty  Years'  War 
of  Palestine. 

(14)  Dropping,  casting  off. 

(15)  For  instance,  a  lost  sheep  (Ps.  119,  176);  r/.  n.  12  on  IV. 

(16)  To  perish  in  the  wilderness,  &c.     Abandoning,  forsaking. 

(17)  Lit.,  embracing  and  being  distant. 

(18)  Lit.,  e.xulting,  leaping  for  joy. 

(19)  This  may  mean  'head  of  a  school.' 

(20)  In  nature.  (21)  By  men  ;  r/.  i,  14;  8,  19*  (VI,  i  and  a). 
(22)  Holderlin's  Empedokles  says, 

Ge/i !  Fi'irchfe  nichts,  Es  kehret  alles  wicder, 
Und  was  geschehen  soil,  ist  schon  geschehen. 


II. 

(i)  Righteous=orthodo.x,  wise  =  godfearing  ;  wicked  =  unorthodox, 
freethinker,  Hellenizer ;  fool  =  agnostic,  atheist;  cf.  Pss.  14,  i;  iii,  10 
(see  also  n.  15  on  V  and  n.  36  on  VI).  In  Dan.  12,  3  the  faithful  (ortho- 
dox) Jews  are  called  they  that  are  wise  (or  of  understandbig)  ;  cf.  v.  10. 
The  Book  of  Daniel  was  written  about  164  b.  c.  when  Ecclesiastes  was 
perhaps  ten  years  old. 

(2)  Lit.,  I  returned  and  saw,  /.  e.,  I  saw  again  (and  again)  ;  I  saw  re- 
peatedly; cf.  IV,  V;  V,  vi. 

(3)  Cf.  note  2  on  section  I  and  n.  3  on  VI. 

(4)  Lit.,  to  whom  it  happens  according  to  the  work  of  the  wicked. 

(5)  Cf.  Isaiah  57,  2  ;  Wisdom  of  Solomon  3,  3. 

(6)  That  is,  the  holy  city  of  Jerusalem.  The  Arabic  name  of  Jeru- 
salem is  el-Kuds,  Holiness. 

(7)  For  instance,  Judas  Maccabaeus  ( i  Mace.  9,  iS)  and  his  elder  bro- 
ther Simon  (i  Mace.  16,  16). 

(8)  Cf.  Job  21,  7-15  ;  12,  6  ;  Jer.  12,  i.  (9)  Dignity. 

(10)  Cf.  e.  g.,  I  Mace.  2,  41  ;  Matt.  12,  i  ff.;  Luke  14,  5. 

(11)  Big,  prone.  (12)  Lit.,  in  them. 

(13)  Socrates  was  convinced  that  no  one  could  harm  a  righteous  man, 
since  God  would  not  forsake  him  ;  cf.  3,  15b  (IV,  f)  and  nn.  12.  23  on  IV. 

( 14)  In  spite  of  the  short  duration  of  my  life  ;  (/  n.  3  on  VIII. 

(15)  Cf.  6,  12a  (VII,  vv). 


36  — »<#«#^S«-  (Uotce  on  ^cckeiaette  -^a^i»i»«—  in 

III. 

( 1 )  Do  not  keep  running  to  the  Temple  heedlessly,  merely  out  of 
habit,  or  out  of  regard  for  other  people.  Consider  when  thou  goest  to 
the  Temple,  whither,  why,  and  wherefore  thou  art  going. 

(2)  Expounding  the  Scriptures. 

(3)  Cy.  I  S  15,  22  ;  Is.  I,  II.  16;  Mic.  6,  6-8. 

(4)  Ecclesiastes  believed  that  God  was  not  only  distinct  from  the 
world,  but  also  separated  from  it.  According  to  Epicurus  {r/.  above, 
n.  7  to  the  Introduction)  the  gods  resided  in  the  interniiindia,  the  spaces 
between  the  worlds.  The  Heb.  word  for  heaven  means  also  ether,  tipper 
air;  cf.  the  birds  of  heaven,  i.  e.  the  air,  e.  g.  in  10,  20  (IV,  f). 

(5)  If  a  man  made  a  vow  which  he  afterwards  repudiated,  on  the 
plea  that  he  had  made  a  mistake,  he  was  liable  to  attachment ;  his  prop- 
erty might  be  seized  as  security  for  the  payment  of  the  vow  and  held  as 
a  pledge  until  satisfaction  be  made. 

(6)  That  is,  high  favor  with  the  people ;  a  good  reputation  is  better 
than  the  finest  flavor  {cf.  our  the  odor  of  his  good  name  and  a  name  of 
evil  savor,  a  malodorous  reputation)  sweeter  than  the  most  precious 
perfume;  cf.  Cant,  i,  3:  thy  name  is  (thrice-)  clarified  perfume;  see 
my  Book  of  Canticles  [cf  n.  21  on  the  Introduction)  n.  21  on  No.  7. 
There  is  a  paronomasia  in  the  Hebrew  :  Tov-^sein  inisshnn  Idz' ;  cf.  be- 
low, n.  12. 

(7)  Qniet  submission  to  the  will  of  fate  {cf.  I,  vi),  unresisting  acquies- 
cence, resignation. 

(8)  Cf.  2  Mace.  S,  17. 

(9)  This  poor  and  wise  youth  is  the  young  king  Alexander  Balas  of 
Syria  ( 150-145  b.  c.  )  who  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Jews  ( i  Mace.  10,  47). 
The  old  and  foolish  king,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  arch-enemy  of  the 
Jews,  Antiochus  Epiphanes  (175-164).  Old  =  patrician,  aristocratic;  cf. 
elder  =  prince,  chief  and  our  old  man.  For  wise  =  religious,  friend  of 
the  Jewish  religion,  and  foolish  =  irreligious,  see  n.  i  on  II.  Alexander 
Balas  was  a  boy  of  very  humble  origin  (Justin  says,  sortis  extrei)iae 
JHvenis),  but  pretended  to  be  a  son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  and  his 
claims  were  supported  (Justin  says,  totius  ferme  orientis  viribus  sub- 
cinctus)  not  only  by  Attains  II.  Philadelphus  (159-138)  of  Pergamum, 
Ariarathes  V.  Philopator  (162-130)  of  Cappadocia,  and  Ptolemy  VI. 
Philometor  (181-145)  of  Egypt,  but  also  by  the  Jews  under  the  Maccabee 
Jonathan  (161-143)  and  even  by  the  Roman  Senate. 

Ps.  45  seems  to  be  the  Heb.  version  of  the  Greek  carmen  nnptiale 
which  Jonathan  presented  at  the  wedding  of  Alexander  Balas  and  the 
Egyptian  princess  Cleopatra,  which  was  celebrated  at  Ptolemais  in  150 
B.  c.  (i  Mace.  10,  58).  It  is  important  to  note  that  this  poem  does  not 
allude  to  the  ancestry  of  the  groom,  only  his  personal  virtues  are  extol- 
led, while  the  bride  is  advised  to  forget  her  father's  house  (the  famous 
dynasty  of  the  Ptolemies)  and  to  submit  to  the  King,  should  he  desire 
her  beauty.  This  marriage  was  not  a  love-match  but  a  political  union  : 
three  years  after  the  wedding  Cleopatra  left  her  young  husband  and  mar- 


Ill  ^*4«§«Ss-  (Jlotee  on  Bccheiaetee  -^nm^-^ —  37 

ried  his  antagonist,  Demetrius  II.  Nicator,  the  son  of  Demetrius  I.  Soter 
who  is  alluded  to  in  Fs.  45  (v.  7 )  as  the  rival  of  the  groom. 
Ps.  45  is  to  be  rendered  as  follows  : 

A  love-song  with  skill  I  indite,  i 

lb  reciting  a  poem  on  the  King  ; 

la  My  mind  overflows  with  good  thoughts, 
ic         a  ready  scribe's  pen  is  my  tongue. 

2   Thy  beauty  is  fairer  than  human,  ii 

thy  lips  with  grace  are  bedewed  ; 
Therefore  men«  bless  thee  for  ever, 
3b         and  give  to  thee  honor  and  praise. 

3a  Gird  thou  thy  sword  on  thy  hip,  iii 

4     1  (-  O  hero  1  hail  to  thee  !  ride 

For  truth's  sake  and  humble  rightness,* 

and  wonders  thy  right  hand  will  show  thee. 

5a  Thine  arrows- so  sharp  -}  do  thou  notch,  ]■       iv 
5c  and  under  thee  nations  will  fall ; 

5b  The  foes  of  the  King  will  perish, 

[and,  like  a  snake,  lick  the  dust.]** 

6  Thy  throned  is  for  ever  and  ever,  v 

a  sceptre  of  right  is  ythy  kingdom  ;  f 

7  Thou  lovest  right,  and  wrong  thou  hatest, 

hast  therefore  vanquished^  thy  rival.J 


I2(  )With  tribute  gladden  thy  face  vi 

the  richest,   -{  with  gold  of  Ophir  ;  }  ? 
9    But  thy  brightest  gem«  is  the  princess 

who  stands  at  thy  right  as  thy  consort,  -j  }■ 

8  (With)  myrrh,  with  cassia,  and  aloes  vii 

are  (fragrant)  all  of  her  garments  ; 
From  the  ivory  palace  (resound) 

[the  harps  and  lutes]  (to)  salute  her. 

i3(^)The  princess  -j  }-  in  brocaded  garments  viii 

with  gold  most  richly  embroidered  ; 

14     The  noble  virgin  is  brought  to  the  King,  -Ji  }- 
escorted  by  her  own  playmates.  <* 


*  That  is,  for  the  Jewish  cause.    *^^*  O^.  Mic.  7,  17.    t  Balas  was  an  impostor. 

JThat  is,  Demetrius  I.  (see  below,  n.  16).  The  literal  translation  of  this 
line  is:  therefore  God,  thy  (7orf,  has  anointed  thee  zc////  the  oil  of  gladness 
above  thy  fellow. 

gThatis,  Rhodesia;  see  Johns  Hopkins  University  Circulars,  No.  163,  p.  53. 
n.  21. 


38  -^^"^'&^m^  (Tloke  on  Bcckei&etie  •m^^S'^' — 

10  Oh  hearken^  and  incline  thine  ear,  ix 

forget  thy  race  and  thy  father's  house  ! 

11  Should  the  King  desire  thy  beauty, 

submit ;  for  he  is  thy  lord. 

16  In  place  of  thy  fathers,  thy  sons, —  x 

the  princes  of  earth  thou  wilt  make  them  ; 

17  Thy  name  will  they  make  ever*  famous, 

^extolled  wilt  thou  beM  forever.* 


(a)         2  God  (3)  6  O  God  (7)  the  sceptre  of 

(J)         7  through  God,  thy  God,  with  the  oil  of  triumph 

(e)       13  in  all  the  treasure  (^)  12  that  is,  the  Tyrian  (1)  13  within 

(i?)       15  Thej-  are  brought  with  joy  and  rejoicing  ; 
thej-  enter  the  palace  of  the  king. 

(0        10  O  maiden  and  see  («)  17  and  ever 

(/.)       17  therefore  (m)  by  the  peoples 

The  general  enthusiasm  for  Alexander  Balas  did  not  last  long :  his 
own  father-in-law,  Ptolemy  VI.  of  Eg>'pt  turned  against  him,  and  he  was 
defeated  by  Demetrius  II.  in  145  b.  c.  He  fled  to  Arabia,  and  five  days 
after  the  battle  his  head  was  brought  to  Ptolemy — an  illustration  of  Ec- 
clesiastes'  saying :  'tis  all  \-anity  and  a  striving  for  wind. 

Transient  are  seeking  and  leaving, 

transient  are  affection,  aversion, 
Transient  are  love  and  hatred, 

transient  are  wailing  and  triumph  ! 

(10)  That  is,  a  vain  pursuit,  a  fruitless  effort  (not  vexatio7i  of  spirit) ; 
cf.  Hos.  12,  I  :  Ephraim  strives  for  wind  and  pursues  the  eastwind,  i.  e., 
they  strive  for  what  is  unattainable,  beyond  reach.    Cf.  above,  n.  2  on  I. 

(11)  That  is,  in  the  right  mood,  in  the  proper  frame  of  mind,  lit.,  in 
the  badness  {i.e.,  sadness)  of  the  face  the  heart  (/.  e.,  the  mind)  is 
good.     Contrast  VIII,  i. 

(12)  Lit.,  thorns.  There  is  a  word-play  {cf  above,  n.  6,  and  n.  8 
on  IV)  between  sir  'pot'  and  sirhn  'thorns'  in  the  Hebrew  {K^-qol 
hassirhn  taht-has'sir).  The  term  sirini  may  denote  the  thorny  burnet 
{poterium  spinostan)  which  is  a  most  combustible  fuel.  Thorny  and 
prickly  plants  abound  in  Palestine. 

(13)  This  gloss  appears  to  refer  to  Alexander  Balas,  who  gave  him- 
self to  self-indulgence,  just  as  his  antagonist  Demetrius  I.  and  Demetrius 
I.'s  uncle,  Antiochus  Epiphanes  were  drunkards.  Justin  says:  Alexan- 
druui  insperatae  opes  et  alienae  felicitatis  ornaine?iia  velut  capfuin  infer 
scortoriim  greges  desideni  in  regia  tenebant.     With  the  Jews,  however. 


Cf.  my  notes  on  the  Hebrew  text  in  Hebraica,  19,  136. 


Ill  — »*e§^»-  Qtofee  on  ^cchei&eUe  -sga^^*  39 

Balas  was  popular  ( I  Mace.   10,  47)  in  spite  of  his  doubtful  origin  and 
his  failings.     The  present  gloss  expresses  a  different  opinion. 

(14)  Feast. 

(15)  Lit.,  from  a  house  of  outcasts  (Ewald,  Verworfc7te)  he  came 
forth  to  reign.  The  Hebrew  term  stirim  suggests  the  name  of  the 
Syrians  and  the  idea  of  apostasy  or  heathenism. 

(i6j  The  first  was  Demetrius  I.  (162-150  d.  c.  ).  Balas  reigned  150- 
145.  The  glossator  has  evidently  overlooked  the  brief  reign  of  the 
young  son  and  successor  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  Antiochus  V.  Eupa- 
tor,  who  reigned  164-162.  Similarly  Strabo  XVI,  2,  40  (p.  762)  disre- 
gards the  brief  reign  of  Aristobulus  I.  (104/3)  and  states  that  Alexan- 
der Jannaeus  was  the  first  Hasmonean  ruler  who  assumed  the  regal  title, 
although  Aristobulus  styled  himself  King  of  the  Jews.  Cf.  n.  12  on  the 
Introduction. 

(17)   Cf.  Dan.  II,  20.  21.  (18)  Carousing. 

IV. 

(i)  At  the  time  of  the  Syrian  dominion  under  Antiochus  Ejiiphanes 
and  his  successors  many  unworthy  persons,  who  betrayed  the  Jewish 
cause  and  sympathized  with  the  Greeks,  attained  great  prominence, 
while  the  noblest  of  the  faithful  Jews  were  humiliated.  Cf.  e.  g.  \  Mace. 
7.  9  ;  9.  25  ;  2  Mace.  4,  8.  13.  19.  25.  For  fools  see  n.  i  on  II. 

(2)  Lit.,  spirit;  cf.  n.  48  on  VIIL 

(3)  Contrast  12,  7=VIII,  x ;  also  2  Mace.  7,  9.  14.  36 ;  12,  44 ;  14,  46. 

(4)  Lit.,  earth,  i.  e.,  the  netherworld;  cf.  my  note  on  Exod.  15,  12 
{Hebraica,  20,  161). 

(5)  Constant  occupation  is  a  blessing  in  this  world;  cf.  nn.  4  and  12 
on  VIIL 

(6)  That  is,  the  wrongs  inflicted  7ipon  them. 

(7)  Lit,  and  in  the  hands  of  their  oppressors  power. 

(8)  That  is,  the  wrongs  inflicted  by  them.  The  Heb.  has  in  both 
cases  :  and  there  was  no  menahhem  for  them  ;  but  menahhcm  means  in 
the  first  case  comforter,  in  the  second  case  avenger.  The  German 
Troster  means  not  only  comforter,  but  also  a  club  or  rod  for  inflicting 
punishment.     Cf.  n.  12  on  III. 

(9)  Similar  pessimistic  ideas  are  repeatedly  expressed  by  Greek 
writers;  cf.  Theognis,  425-428 ;  Soph.,  Oed.  Col.,  1225-1228.  In  Cicero, 
Tusc,  I,  48  we  read:  Non  nasci  homifii  longe  optimum  esse,  proximiim 
autem  quam  primtim  mori.  Even  Socrates  regarded  death  as  a  recoven,' 
from  a  disease. 

(10)  Numerous  progeny  and  longevity  was  the  ancient  Hebrew  ideal 
of  happiness.  Cf.  Pss.  127,  5;  128,  3  {Hebraica,  11,  143,  150)— Exod. 
20,  12  ;  Deut.  5,  16;  Ephes.  6,  2 ;  Deut.  4,  40 ;  6,  2  :  22,  7  ;  i  K  3,  14. 

(11)  O^  n.  II  on  I. 

(12)  Lit.,  seeks,  /.  e.,  takes  care  ;  He  does  not  leave  them  in  tlie  lurch  ; 
cf.  n.  15  on  I. 

(13)  Persecuted;  cf.  n.  i. 


40  -^°^^^S5-  QXot<0  on  Bcciiei&etee  -^^^^^4^—  '  iv 

(14)  This  addition  may  be  based  on  the  Horatian  Ojn/ies  eodein  cogi- 
mur  (published  about  23  b.  c.  ). 

(15)  Lit.,  look  at  that  which  be  will  be  after  him  ;  cf.  VI,  y  ;  VII,  ff  ; 
VIII,  /^.  Socrates  declared  that  he  did  not  know  what  was  in  store  for  us 
after  death,  but  he  cherished  the  hope  of  a  life  beyond. 

(16)  Or  bribe  {cf.  e.  g.  i  Mace.  2,  18).  Oppression,  persecution, 
adversity  often  develop  the  sterling  qualities  of  men,  while  favor  (especi- 
ally bribes)  leads  to  corruption. 

(17)  Schiller  says,  Allzustraff gespannt,  zerspringt  der  Bogen.  Well- 
hausen  quotes  this  phrase  at  the  beginning  of  c.  17  of  his  Israelitische 
und Ji'idische  Geschichte  (Berlin,  1904)  p.  258,  to  characterize  the  condi- 
tions preceding  the  Maccabean  rising  in  167  b.  c. 

(18)  Lit.,  tilled,  cultivated. 

(19)  In  spite  of  all  drawbacks  a  monarchy  is  best  suited  to  an  agri- 
cultural country  with  a  settled  population.  Cf.  e.  g.  Joseph.,  Ant.^  xvi, 
9,  I  ;  xvii,  2,  I.     Even  Herod  was  a  good  ruler  up  to  a  certain  point. 

(20)  The  oath  of  allegiance;  cf.  Joseph.,  Ant.,  xv,  10,  4;  xvii,  2,  4; 
see  also  Matt.  22,  21  ;  Rom.  13,  i.  Socrates  strongly  emphasized  the 
necessity  of  obedience  to  the  state  and  its  laws. 

(21)  Conspiracy,  &c.     Cf.  e.  g.  Joseph.,  Ant.,  xv,  8,  3. 

(22)  Who  can  criticize  his  actions?  Even  kings  under  Roman  sover- 
eignty {reges  socii)  had  absolute  power  of  life  and  death  over  their  sub- 
jects. 

(23)  Lit.,  who  observes  the  law  will  experience  no  evil.  A  law-abid- 
ing citizen  will  be  unmolested,  cf.  n.  13  on  II. 

(24)  There  will  be  a  day  of  reckoning ;  but  premature  rebellion  is 
unwise. 

(25)  Lit,  if  the  ruler's  spirit  should  rise  against  thee. 

(26)  Lit.,  causes  to  rest,  stop. 

(27)  Lit.,  a  rich  man;  cf.  gloss  /^.  Rich  {cf  Lat.  rex  and  German 
Reich  =  empire)  meant  originally  powerful,  mighty,  noble,  ruling. 

(28)  Herod  the  Great  employed  a  great  many  spies;  often  he  went 
out  himself  at  night,  in  disguise,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  feelings  of  the 
Jews  toward  his  government;  cf.  Joseph.,  Ant.,  xv,  10,  4;  8,  4. 

(29)  Not  to  have  a  burial  was  considered  one  of  the  greatest  of  calami- 
ties. At  the  end  of  the  Babylonian  Nimrod  Epic  we  read :  He  whose 
dead  body  is  left  in  the  field,  his  spirit  finds  no  rest  in  the  earth  ;  he 
whose  spirit  has  no  one  to  take  care  of  him,  must  eat  the  dregs  of  the  pot, 
the  remnants  of  food  that  lie  in  the  street.  Cf.  i  Mace.  7,  17;  2  Mace.  5, 
10 ;  13,  7- 

(30)  Lit.,  it  comes  in(to)  vanity  and  goes  in(to)  darkness. 

(31)  Lit.,  rejoice  in  them  all.  (32)   Cf.  n.  20  on  VII. 
(33)  The  present   German   Emperor  is  said  to  have  written  in  the 

Golden  Book  of  Munich  :  Supreina  lex  regis  voluntas,  an  autocratic 
modification  of  the  Ciceronian  Salus  piiblica  supreina  lex  \  r/".  Juvenal's 
Hoc  volo,  sicjubeo  ;  sit  pro  ratione  voluntas. 


— *<*e^^B«-  (Tlo<«6  on  (Eccfc6ta6<C0  -j*5*3#3>«>* —  41 


(i)  ISIore  accurately, />«/;«,  flat  of  the  hand. 

(2)  More  exactly,  hollows  of  the  hand. 

(3)  Lit.,  the  sight  of  the  eyes,  i.  e.,  what  is  within  our  reach. 

(4)  Lit.,  wandering  of  the  soul,  /.  e.,  e.xtravagant  wishes,  castles  in 
the  air.  We  must  strive  for  what  is  within  reach,  not  for  that  which  is 
beyond  it. 

(5)  Lit.,  will  have  no  income. 

(6)  There  is  no  permanent  gain,  it  vanishes  under  his  eyes  ;  he  can 
not  enjoy  it  all,  he  can  feast  his  eyes  thereon  only  as  long  as  it  lasts. 

(7)  <3^  n.  2  on  I.  (8)  Lit.,  there  is  no  end  to  all  his  toil. 
(9)  Lit.,  and  if  he  has  begotten  a  son,  there  is  nothing  in  his  hand. 

(10)  This  can  hardly  be  a  Heb.  imitation  of  the  Greek  phrase  na'/Mv 
Kayadov.  The  meaning  of  the  Greek  term  is  different ;  /ca/.of  Ka.ya-&6q  is  a 
gentleman,  and  Ka'/Sov  aa-^n-dov  means  a  noble  act.     Cy.  n.  57  on  VIIL 

(11)  Lit.,  for  his  mouth. 

(12)  Inactivity  and  indifference  are  foolish  and  suicidal. 

(13)  An  absurd  enterprise,  a  fool's  or  gawk's  errand. 

(14)  Lit.,  may  weary  him,  cf.  n.  5  on  L 

(15)  That  is,  one  who  is  so  stupid  that  he  does  not  know  how  to  go 
to  town.  Is.  35,  8  affords  no  parallel  ;  ih&re  f 00/ s  is  equivalent  to  ««- 
godly,  cf.  n.  i  on  II.  The  phrase  seems  to  be  proverbial  like  our  who 
does  not  know  enough  to  come  in  when  it  rains,  or  the  French  //  ne  troti- 
verait  pas  de  I'eau  h  la  riviire,  or  the  German  (a  blockhead)  niit  deni 
man  IViinde  einrennen  k'dnnte. 

(16)  Lit.,  who  knows  how  to  walk  before  the  living,  i.  e.,  possesses 
savoir-faire  and  savoir-vivre. 

(17)  Nietzsche  would  have  said:  Zweisiedler  sind  besser  daran  als 
Einsiedler.  If  a  man  stands  alone,  he  cannot  enjoy  the  result  of  his 
work  so  well  as  the  man  who  can  share  his  pleasure  with  someone  near 
him.  If  a  man  is  successful  in  his  toil,  and  can  use  his  gain  to  make  his 
family  or  his  friends  happy,  he  will  have  a  better  reward  than  the  solitary 
man.  Even  honors  and  recognition  afford  less  satisfaction  if  we  have 
no  one  near  us  to  share  our  pleasure. 

(18)  Lit.,  but  the  one,  how  can  he  be  warm? 

(19)  Cf.  Job  I,  21  ;  Ps.  49,  17  ;  I  Tim.  6,  7. 

(20)  Lit.,  which  he  may  take  away  in  his  hand. 

(21)  Seen.  4  on  \TI.  (22)   <7^  3,  13  (VII,  »?>?). 
(23)  Engro.sses,    occupies;  see  the  last  paragraph   of   n.    47  to  my 

paper  Babylonian  Elements  in  the  Levitic  Ritual  {Journal  of  Biblical 
Literature,  19,  71).  LXX,  o  -dmq  nepimrq  aiiTov  ;  Vulgate,  Deus  occupet 
deliciis  cor  ejus. 

VI. 
(i)   Cf.  n.  21  on  I.  (2)  See  n.  2  on  I. 

(3)  Lit.,  wherefore  have  I  been  so  very  wise? 

(4)  Lit.,  evil  ujion  me  were. 


42  — *>4«^^S5-  (Itofee  on  (Eccfcetaotce  -^m^si-^—  vi 

(5)  Lit.,  also  this  I  saw  as  wisdom  under  the  sun,  and  it  was  great 
to  me.  Wisdom  means  also  a  wise  act,  just  as  vanity  is  used  for  a  vain 
pursuit;  cf.n.2  on  I,  and  n.  i  on  II. 

(6)  This  refers  to  the  unsuccessful  siege  of  Bethsura,  a  small  but 
strongly  fortified  place  on  the  boundary  between  Judea  and  Idumea, 
commanding  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to  Hebron  ;  cf.  i  Mace.  6,  31  ;  2 
Mace.  13,  19.  The  son  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  Antiochus  V.  Eupator, 
who  was  but  ten  years  old,  marched  against  Bethsura  in  163  b.  c,  but 
his  efforts  were  fruitless. 

(7)  The  name  of  the  wise  defender  of  Bethsura  has  been  forgotten, 
but  the  name  of  the  traitor  Rhodocus  is  recorded;  cf.  2  Mace.  13,  21. 
Wellhausen,  op.  cit.  (see  n.  17  on  IV)  p.  261,  n.  i  says,  the  Jews  would 
have  forgotten  Judas  Maccabaeus,  if  the  Books  of  the  Maccabees  had  not 
been  preserved  by  the  Church. 

(8)  See  n.  i  on  I.  (9)  See  n.  19  on  I. 
(10)  Study  and  explore.       -                                      (11)   (T/.  n.  15  on  IV. 

(12)  Devices,  theories,  speculations. 

(13)  Cf.  Deut.  4,  2  ;  12,  32;  Prov.  30,  6;  Rev.  22,  18.  19. 

(14)  Eccl.  I,  I  says:  /«  Jerusalem ;  cf.  n.  9  and  II,  v.  00. 

(15)  Imbibed. 

(16)  Socrates'  conception  of  wisdom  was  the  knowledge  that  he  knew 
nothing ;  and  Dubois-Reymond  said  at  the  conclusion  of  his  address  on 
the  Grenzeti  des  Naturerketvtens  (delivered  at  Leipzig  in  1872)  :  Ignora- 
bimus. 

(17)  Lit.,  beautiful  in  its  time.  Socrates  was  convinced  that  what- 
ever the  deity  decrees  must  be  good. 

(18)  Lit,  He  has  put  obscurity  (dimness)  in  their  heart  (mind).  We 
must  read  ha^lhrt ;  cf.  Talm.  be-ha'^lem  (or  be'^a/hn=bS-he<^alem) 
'unconsciously'  and  ndlvfifia  ettI  ttjv  KapSlav  avruv  Kdrai,  2  Cor.  3,  15. 

(19)  Lit.,  far  from  me.  (20)  Theoretically. 
(21)  Practical  experience.  (22)  Theoretical. 

(23)  This  polemical  interpolation  extolling  wisdom  reflects  the  Stoic 
philosophy,  which  regarded  the  wise  man  as  the  impersonation  of  per- 
fection. 

(24)  Lit.,  wisdom  is  good  with  an  inheritance,  /.  e.,  just  as  good  as  an 
inheritance  (so  AV,  margin). 

(25)  Lit.,  those  who  see  the  sun.  The  meaning  of  the  passage  is  :  If 
a  man  acquires  wisdom,  he  is  as  well  equipped  as  a  man  who  has  in- 
herited a  fortune.  Wisdom  is  even  preferable  to  money:  it  ennobles 
life  and  makes  it  worth  living.  A  poor  wise  man  may  be  happier  than  a 
rich  fool.  Money  may  be  lost,  but  wisdom  is  a  treasure  which  moths 
and  rust  cannot  consume  (Matt.  6,  19;  Luke  12,  33).  For  Schopen- 
hauer's misapplication  of  this  passage  see  n.  15  to  my  lecture  cited  in 
n.  2  to  the  Introduction  ;  f/^  n.  43  on  VIII. 

(26)  That  is,  in  the  right  (proper)  place.  It  does  not  mean  that  the 
heart  of  the  wise  man  beats  on  the  right  side  of  the  body.  (f.  the  Ger- 
man phrase  das  Herz  auf  dem  rechten  Fleck  habefi  and  our  right- 
hearted. 


VI  — s^-^^Ks-  (Uofce  on  ^cctceiaeke  -)J2^*g3*«—  43 

(27)  According  to  the  beliefs  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  the  heart  is  the 
seat  of  the  intellect.  His  heart  is  at  the  right  means  therefore  :  his  mind 
is  sound  (sane,  rational,  sensible). 

(28)  That  is,  in  the  wrong  place.  Left-hand=inauspicious  ;  left-hand- 
ed=awkward,  unskilful;  left-witted~dull,  stupid. 

(29)  Lit.,  in  the  way  (errand)  whicii  the  fool  goes.  In  i  K  18,  22 
he  has  a  way  ( AV,  he  is  in  a  journey)  means  he  has  some  business ;  ef. 
also  Is.  58,  13:  7wt  doing  thy  own  ze'(y.y=pursuing  thy  business  ;  Jud.  18, 
5  our  way  which  we  ,^c=the  errand  on  which  we  are  going,  /.  e.,  our 
undertaking. 

(30)  Heb.  +  the  mouth  of.     Contrast  the  last  line  of  II,  ii. 

(31)  Confuse,  entangle,  involve  in  trouble.       (32)  Lit.,  better  (than). 

(33)  Lit.,  are  above  the  shout  of  the  ruler  among  the  fools. 

(34)  The  fragrant  ointment  of  the  dealer  in  aromatic  spices  and  per- 
fumes ;  see  my  Book  of  Canticles  {cf.  n.  21  on  the  Introduction)  nn.  7-10 
on  No.  I. 

(35)  That  is,  unfathomable. 

(36)  Cf.x\.\on  II.  Socrates  identified  virtue  with  knowledge;  he 
believed  that  no  one  consciously  did  wrong,  but  only  through  imperfect 
cognition.  Nietzsche  says,  many  actions  are  called  bad  which  are  merely 
stupid. 

VIL 

(i)  Lit.,  what  is  it  doing? 

(2)  That  is,  to  stimulate,  lit.,  draw,  attract  (lure). 

(3)  Lit.,  do;  cf.  Greek  tv  -ixiirrtiv  and  below,  n.  25,  and  n.  57  on  VIII. 

(4)  That  is,  limited,  few  ;  AV,  margin,  the  number  of  the  days,  i.  e., 
the  few  days  {cf.  AV,  margin,  Is.  10,  19).  Shakespeare  says:  The 
sands  are  numbered  that  make  up  my  life.  Cf.  the  German  Seine  Tage 
sind  gezdh/t,  also  2  Mace.  6,  25  (for  Swete's  did/iniov.  for  MS.  uKatpeov, 
read,  with  Fritzsche,  ai<npi(uov). 

(5)  Heb.  +  in  them.  (6)  Lit.,  a  wood  sprouting  (out)  trees. 
(7)  Works  accomplished,  achievements.  (8)  What  sort  of  a  man? 
(9)  Forethought.     Heb. +under  the  sun. 

(10)  Lit.,  I  turned  to  let  my  heart  despair.  (11)  If  there  is  a  man. 
(12)  Lit.,  give  it,   surrender  it.       (13)  Lit.,  falls.       (14)  Lit.,  griefs. 

(15)  Lit.,  and  his  labor  much  worry. 

(16)  Lit.,  to  make  his  soul  see  good.  (17)   Cy.  below,  gloss  ft. 

( 18 )  Not  only  one,  but  plenty  of  them  ;  not  only  one  wife,  but  a 
whole  harem. 

(19)  Cf.  IV,  u;  VI,  y. 

(20)  Lit.,  in  darkness,  even  if  iiis  whole  life  is  dreary  and  cheerless, 
destitute  of  joy,  gladness  and  comfort;  if  he  experiences  nothing  but 
unhappiness,  grief,  and  worry. 

(21 )  Lit.,  is  from  the  hand  of 

(22)  Lit.,  who  can  eat,  and  who  can  feel  ? 

(23)  Lit.,  who  is  good  before  Him.  (24)  Heb.  +  for  tiiem. 
(25)  Lit.,  to  do  well  ;  c/.  above,  n.  3.  (26)  O'.  5,  19  (\',  o). 
(27)   C/.S,  13(11,  »'»'). 


44  — »<^-e§^!s-  (Jlo<«0  on  Bcdteiaette  ^j^^>i°<—  viii 

VIII. 

(i)  As  though  you  were  continually  feasting  and  rejoicing;  c/.  Ps. 
23,  5  ;  Prov.  27,  9 ;  Is.  61,  3 ;  Luke,  7,  46.     Contrast  7,  3  (III,  0- 

(2)  Lit.,  see  {i.  e.,  enjoy)  life.  C/.  2  Mace.  14,  25  {h/afirjaev,  evard- 
■Btjaev,  eKoivuv/fffEV  P'lov). 

(3)  Temporary  existence,  fleeting  life ;  cf.  II,  i. 

(4)  Here  Ecclesiastes  preaches  the  gospel  of  work;  see  also  n.  5 
on  IV. 

(5)  Do  not  be  too  anxious  about  the  future.  You  must  run  some 
risk  if  you  want  to  succeed  in  this  world.  Act  like  a  merchant  who 
sends  his  grain  to  distant  lands  across  the  sea.  Do  not  be  timid,  but 
cautious.  Do  not  put  all  your  eggs  into  one  basket,  do  not  ship  all  your 
goods  in  one  bottom.  Be  prepared  for  all  contingencies,  for  we  cannot 
control  the  future. 

(6)  Unforeseen  occurrences  out  of  the  range  of  ordinary  calculation 
are  liable  to  happen  at  any  time  ;  but  if  you  do  not  dare  to  run  any  risk, 
you  can  accomplish  nothing. 

(7)  Even  the  commonest  occupations  are  attended  with  risk. 

(8)  Snakes  abound  in  Palestine  and  are  often  found  in  dilapidated 
buildings  the  stones  of  which  are  not  unfrequently  used  for  new  houses. 
Hillah  on  the  Euphrates  e.  g.  is  built  entirely  with  bricks  from  the  ruins 
of  Babylon. 

(9)  Lit.,  its  wielder  must  put  forth  more  strength.  The  risk  is  not 
so  great,  but  then  it  requires  a  greater  effort. 

(10)  Do  not  lock  the  stable  door  after  the  steed  is  stolen.  All  your 
precautions  help  you  nothing  if  you  miss  the  proper  moment. 

(11)  You  must  not  be  over-cautious,  otherwise  you  will  never  ac- 
complish anything. 

(12)  Work  whenever  you  can  ;  cf.  above,  n.  4. 

(13)  These  lines  form  the  basis  of  the  well-known  German  students' 
song  Gaudeamus  igittir,  originally  a  penitential  song  of  two  stanzas. 
Stanzas  ii  and  iii  are  found  in  a  manuscript  of  1267;  stanzas  i-iii  were 
probably  known  about  1717.  The  tune,  which  is  a  saraband,  can  hardly 
have  originated  prior  to  1750. 

(14)  Amuse  yourself  while  you  are  young.  Pluck  those  flowers  of 
pleasure  which  grow  alongside  the  path  ot  life.  Be  no  hermit  or  ascetic, 
but  do  not  ruin  your  health!  Cf.  the  German  (or  rather,  Swiss)  song: 
Freut  euch  des  Lebetts,  weil  noch  das  Ldmpcheti  gl'uht ;  pfli'icket  die 
Rose,  eh'  sie  verbluht!  (by  H.  G.  Nageli,  of  Zurich,  1793). 

(15)  That  is,  thy  wife;  cf.  Prov.  5,  15-18.  In  modern  Palestinian 
love-songs  a  girl  is  often  termed  a  fountain  or  a  well  ;  cf.  my  Book  of 
Canticles  (see  n.  21  on  the  Introduction)  n.  36  on  No.  8.  The  meaning  of 
the  passage  is :  Do  not  neglect  your  lawful  wife !  Try  to  build  up  a 
family  while  you  are  in  the  full  possession  of  your  manly  vigor  ! 

fi6)  The  sun  is  the  sunshine  of  childhood  when  everything  seems 
bright  and  happy  ;  the  moon  is  symbolical  of  the  more  tempered  light  of 
boyhood  and  early  manhood,  while  the  stars  indicate  the  sporadic  mo- 


VIII  —-i^mff  (Jlofee  on  Bccheiaetee  -aismptt'*  45 

merits  of  happiness  in  mature  age.  More  and  more  the  number  of  rainy 
days  increases,  but  seldom  interrupted  by  bright  moments  ;  and  when, 
we  are  going  down  the  hill,  there  is  no  sunshine  after  the  rain,  but  the 
clouds  return,  and  everything  seems  painted  gray  on  gray. 

(17)  The  hands.  (18)  The  bones,  especially  the  backbone. 

(19)  The  teeth. 

(20)  The  eyes  begin  to  lose  their  luster,  and  sight  becomes  dim. 

(21)  Lit.,  the  doors  toward  the  street  are  closed,  /.  e.,  the  exits  are 
barred :  secretions  are  insufficient,  or  vitiated,  or  cease  ;  he  begins  to 
suffer  from  retention  ( ischuria )  and  intestinal  stenosis. 

(22)  His  digestion  is  impaired. 

(23)  His  sleep  is  short ;  he  awakens  when  the  birds  begin  to  chirp  at 
daybreak. 

(24)  He  is  unable  to  hear  sounds  distinctly,  and  becomes  hard  of 
hearing. 

(25)  He  hates  to  climb  a  hill,  or  to  go  upstairs,  because  he  is  short 
of  breath. 

(26)  Lit.,  fears  are  on  the  way,  /.  c,  he  dreads  a  walk  even  on  level 
ground. 

(27)  His  hair  turns  hoarj'.  Dr.  Post,  of  Beirut,  says  of  the  blossoms 
of  the  almond  tree  :  Although  the  petals  are  pale  pink  toward  the  base, 
they  are  usually  whitish  toward  their  tips,  and  the  general  effect  of  an 
almond  tree  in  blossom  is  white.  Bodenstedt  in  his  Tausend  und  ein 
Tag  im  Orient  (2,  237)  speaks  of  the  white  blossoms  of  the  almond 
tree  as  falling  down  like  snow-flakes. 

(28)  Lit.,  becomes  a  burden. 

(29)  The  Heb.  term  is  generally  used  for  locusts  in  one  of  their  stages 
of  development.  It  may  have  been  loosely  applied  to  many  kinds  of  in- 
sects, just  as  bug  is  sometimes  used  here  in  America. 

(30)  Lit.,  the  poor  one.     In  the  same  way  we  read  in  Ps.  22,  21 : 

From  the  jaws  of  the  lion  save  me, 

my  wretched  ( life)  from  the  unicorns. 

Cf.  Wellhausen's  translation  in  the  Polychrome  Bible. 

(31)  Lit.,  breaks  through.  The  soul  is  freed  from  the  body,  as  the 
butterfly  emerges  from  the  chrysalis.  The  Greek  word  psyche  means 
not  only  soul  but  also  butterfly. 

(32)  The  spinal  chord.  (33)  The  brain. 

(34)  The  heart  loses  its  power  to  propel  the  blood  through  the  body. 

(35)  The  waterwheel,  i.  <?.,  the  whole  machinery  comes  to  a  stop 
{paralysis  cordis)  and  this  stoppage  means  dissolution. 

(36)  The  grave. 

(37)  The  hired  mourners  {qui  conducti  plorant  in  funcre,  Hon,  Ars 
poet.  431). 

(38)  Lit.,  before  them.     Cf.  IV,  //. 

(39)  In  I  Mace.  3,  56  we  read  that  when  Judas  Maccabseus  (165-161) 
organized  his  army,  he  discharged  all  men  who  were  building  houses,  or 
were  planting  vineyards,  or  were   fearful  {cf.  Deut.  24,  5  and  the  late 


46  -^-i<et^B5-  (J},ote0  on  Sccheiaette  •3»^|»f<-«—  viii 

Deuteronomistic  addition,  Deut.  20,  5-8)  but  at  the  time  of  the  author  of 
the  present  gloss  there  were  no  exemptions  in  time  of  war ;  John  Hyr- 
canus  (135-104)  and  his  successors  had  no  national  Jewish  army,  but 
mercenaries  (Joseph.,  A>iL,  xiii,  8,  4).  The  soldiers  of  Alexander  Jan- 
naeus  (see  n.  12  on  the  Introduction)  were  Pisidians  and  Cilicians.  In 
the  army  of  Herod  the  Great  (37-4  b.  c.  )  there  were  numerous  Thra- 
cians,  Germans,  and  Gauls  (Joseph.,  Anf.,  xv,  8,  4). 

The  meaning  of  the  present  passage  is  :  Just  as  no  one  can  avert  the 
wind,  so  no  one  can  avert  his  death-day.  There  is  no  exemption,  just  as 
there  is  no  discharge  from  the  ranks,  no  furlough  in  time  of  war.  Even 
the  righteous  must  yield  to  the  inexorable  law  of  death,  and  wickedness 
will  certainly  not  exempt  those  who  are  given  to  it,  for  the  wages  of  sin  is 
death  (Rom.  6,  23). 

(40)  Cf.  2  Mace.  7,  22. 

(41)  According  to  Winckler  this  may  be  an  allusion  to  Alcimus  who 
commanded  that  the  inner  court  of  the  sanctuary  should  be  pulled  down 
(i  Mace.  9,  54)  ;  see,  however,  n.  3  on  the  Introduction. 

(42)  Do  what  you  feel  inclined  to,  and  enjoy  what  pleases  your  eye. 
This  ironical  addition  is  based  on  Num.  15,  39. 

(43)  This  passage  is  an  interpolation.  Ecclesiastes  was  no  miso- 
gynist ;  </.  stanzas  ii  and  x  of  section  VIII  (9,  9  ;  12,  i ).  Schopenhauer, 
who  quotes  Ecclesiastes  twelve  times,  remarks  :  Der  geniale  Koheleth 
sagt :  ' '  Unter  Tausend  habe  ich  eine n  Menschen  gefiuide7i,  aber  kein 
IVeib  uutcr  a/len  dicscH;"  but  three  of  the  seven  passages  of  Ecclesi- 
astes, which  Schopenhauer  quotes,  are  interpolations,  viz.,  7,  4  (III,  t) 
quoted  in  Schopenhauer's  works,  vol.  3,  p.  731  ;  5,  78; — 7,  12  (VI,  ") 
quoted  5,  352  ;  6,  462  ; — 7,  29  (VIII,  v)  quoted  4,  32.  See  Schopen- 
hauer's Werke  edited  by  J.  Frauenstadt,  and  W.  L.  Hertslet's  Schopen- 
hauer-Register (Leipzig,  1890)  p.  22  ;  see  also  above,  n.  25  on  VI. 

(44)  Examining  and  counting  one  case  after  the  other,  making  a 
statistical  investigation. 

(45)  Lit,  calculation  (ratio,  proportion). 

(46)  Diogenes  is  reported  to  have  gone  to  the  market  place,  with  a 
lighted  lantern  in  broad  daylight,  to  find  men.  Napoleon  I.  said  to 
Goethe  :   Voiis  etes  an  hoinine. 

(47)  That  is,  an  ideal  woman.  (48)  Lit.,  spirit ;  cf.  n.  2  on  IV. 

(49)  Cf.  nn.  I.  19  on  I. 

(50)  More  exactly,  double-hemistichs,  hemistichal  pairs  ;  each  line  in 
Heb.  poetry  consists  of  a  pair  of  hemistichs  (with  3  +  3,  2  +  2,  or  3  +  2 
beats). 

(51)  Graceful,  elegant.     (52)  He  never  sacrificed  substance  to  form. 
(53)  Lit.,  lords  (members)  of  the  assembly,  i.  c.,  parts  of  a  collection, 

lines  forming  parts  of  a  coherent  poem,  not  isolated  apothegms  or  de- 
tached aphorisms.  An  isolated  maxim,  a  single  proverb,  as  we  find 
them  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  which  was  commonly  ascribed  to  Solo- 
mon, is  like  the  point  of  an  ox-goad :  it  pricks  one  particular  spot  for  a 
moment,  urging  on  and  stimulating,  but  has  no  lasting  effect.  Sayings, 
however,  which  are  systematically  arranged  in  a  special  collection  form- 


viii  — »-4<^^Ss-  Jl66rcptaftone  -^^fs**—  47 

ing  a  coherent  didactic  poem,  are  as  impressive  as  nails  firmly  driven 
into  a  board :  they  have  a  firm  hold  on  us.  This  is  said  also  with 
reference  to  the  relative  difficulty  of  memorizing  isolated  sayings  as  con- 
tained in  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  coherent  di- 
dactic poem  of  Ecclesiastes,  on  the  other.  It  is  much  harder  to  learn  the 
Book  of  Proverbs  by  heart  (owing  to  the  lack  of  connection  between  the 
individual  verses)  than  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes  which  is  written  by  one 
shepherd  (or  leader)  on  a  definite  plan  and  with  a  definite  object  in  view. 

(54)  Of  Epicurus  and  his  followers. 

(55)  On  Greek  philosophy.     The  Greek  philosophers  were  very  pro- 
lific writers.       Cf.   M.   Friedlander,    Griechische  Philosophie  im  Alien 
Testament  (Berlin,  1904)  and  E.  Sellin  Die  Spuren  griechischer  Philoso- 
phie iniAlten  Testament  {heipzig,  1905). 

(56)  Schopenhauer  says,  Much  reading  deprives  the  mind  of  all  elasti- 
city; it  is  like  keeping  a  spring  perpetually  under  pressure  (quoted  by 
Dr.  James  Moffat  in  his  Literary  Illustrations  of  Ecclesiastes  in  The  Ex- 
positor, Jan.  1905,  p.  79)  cf.  J.  Frauenstiidt's  Schopoihancr- Lexicon 
(Leipzig,  1871)  p.  57  and  W.  L.  Hertslet's  Schopenhauer-Register 
(Leipzig,  1890)  p.  127. 

(57)  This  is  supposed  to  be  a  Grecism, ^rovro  iravroq  av&punov  (eariv 
epyov)  ;  cf.  n.  10  onV ;  n.  3  on  VII.  LXX,  however,  renders:  o~«  rovro  wag 
6  av'&p(jj~(i(^. 

(58)  Cf.  2  Mace.  12,  41. 

(59)  Vi::.,  the  snares,  nets,  and  fetters,  and  other  pitfalls. 

(60)  Lit.,  shepherd. 

cEBfirevtaftone. 

AV  =  Authorized  Version; — c.  —  chapter,  cc.  =  chapters  ; — EB  = 
Cheyne-Black's  Encyclopcedia  Biblica  (New  York,  1899-1903)  ; — ^JAOS 
=  Jourttal  of  the  American  Oriental  Society;  —  K  =  The  Books  of 
The  Kings  ; — 1.  =  line,  11.  =  lines ; — n.  =  note,  nn.  =  notes  ; — p.  =  page,  pp. 
=  pages  ;  —  V.  =  verse,  vv.  =  verses  ;  — ZAT=-  Stade's  Zeitschrift  fiir  die 
alttestameniliche  Wissenschaft ;  —  ZDMG  =  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen 
Morgenldndischen  Gescllschaft. 

In  the  translations  from  the  Hebrew,  parentheses,  ( ),  indicate  words 
implied,  but  not  expressed,  in  the  Hebrew,  or  words  supplied  for  the 
sake  of  the  rhythm.  Brackets,  [],  on  the  other  hand,  indicate  words  or 
clauses  which  must  be  restored  in  th?  Hebrew  text.  In  the  translation 
of  Ps.  45  (see  n.  9  on  III)  braces,  -|  [-,  indicate  transpositions,  the 
traditional  position  of  the  words  in  the  Received  Text  being  marked  by 
\  \,  while  the  transposed  words  are  enclosed  in-j  j- .  Similarly  (t)  and 
[1]  indicate  transpositions  of  glosses. 


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